Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib slams bombing of Rafah as ‘intentional’ as Israel calls it a ‘mistake’

Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he claimed that Israel’s bombing of Rafah was a “mistake”.

An Israeli airstrikeon tents in Rafah, meant for displaced Palestinians, killed at least 50 people and injured dozens more on Sunday, according to Gaza health authorities.

Prime Minister Netanyahu subsequently called the strike “a tragic mistake” and said that it would be investigated.

But Rep. Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, hit back at the Israeli leader’s explanation.

“This was intentional,” she wrote on X. “You don’t accidentally kill massive amounts of children and their families over and over again and get to say, ‘It was a mistake.’”

Ms Tlaib also criticised President Joe Biden in her post. “Genocidal maniac Netanyahu told us he wants to ethically cleanse Palestinians,” she said. “When are you going to believe him @POTUS?”

Ms Tlaib has been heavily criticized in Congress since the Israel-Hamas war began last October when the militant group killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. An estimated 35,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel’s invasion.

Last year 22 Democrats joined with Republicans to censure her for her remarks about the war, specifically her invocation of the term “from the River to the Sea,” which she claimed was a statement of liberation for Palestinians but that many perceive to call for the destruction of Israel.

Ms Tlaib has also heavily criticised Mr Biden’s support for Israel throughout the war, and backed efforts in the Michigan Democratic primary to vote “uncommitted.”

Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, a fellow member of the progressive coterie of Democrats known as