TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military set fire to a camp that Palestinians were taking refuge in Rafah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the airstrike as a “tragic mishap.” 45 people were killed.

The strike only added to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its attacks on Gaza. Israel insists it adheres to international law even as it faces scrutiny in the world’s top criminal justice courts, one of which last week demanded that it halt the offensive in Rafah.

Netanyahu did not elaborate on the error.

Sunday night’s attack, which appeared to be one of the war’s most violent, pushed the overall Palestinian death toll in the war above 36,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

“Despite our utmost efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night there was a tragic mishap,” Netanyahu said Monday in an address to Israel’s parliament. “We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because this is our policy.”

Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the northwestern neighborhood of Tel al-Sultan, said rescuers “pulled out people who were in an unbearable state.”

“We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal,” he said.

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At least 45 people were killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service. The ministry said the dead included at least 12 women, eight children and three older adults, with another three bodies burned beyond recognition.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency closed meeting for Tuesday afternoon on the situation in Rafah at the request of Algeria, the Arab representative on the council, two council diplomats told The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement.

Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt, had housed more than a million people — about half of Gaza’s population — displaced from other parts of the territory. Most have fled once again since Israel launched what it called a limited incursion there earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps in and around the city.

Israel has denied allegations of genocide brought against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. Last week, the court ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, a ruling it has no power to enforce.

Separately, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, over alleged crimes linked to the war. The ICC only intervenes when it concludes that the state in question is unable or unwilling to properly prosecute such crimes.

Around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes. Severe hunger is widespread, and U.N. officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

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