Massie trolls Elizabeth Warren for slamming Israel's attack on Rafah (2024)

Libertarian-minded Rep. Thomas Massie reminded Sen. Elizabeth Warrenshe voted for a foreign aid bill that sent arms to Israel as the Massachusetts Democrat called the IDF's offensive in Rafah 'horrific.'

'The Israeli bombing of a refugee camp inside a designated safe zone is horrific. Israel has a duty to protect innocent civilians and Palestinians seeking shelter in Rafah have nowhere safe to go,' Warren wrote on X.

'Netanyahu's assault of Rafah must stop. We need an immediate cease-fire.'

Massie, R-Ky., shot back: 'Ma'am, you voted to send those bombs to Israel.'

Warren voted to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package that included $26 billion for Israel and Gaza. Some $9 billion was for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and over $9 billion went to Israel's defenses.

Massie opposed the package and signed on to an unsuccessful effort to try to oust Speaker Mike Johnson over it.

Israel expressed regret that its bombing had killed civilians in a refugee camp in Rafah - but said their missiles had killed two senior Hamas leaders.

At least 45 people were killed by the blast and subsequent fires, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, including 23 women, children and older people. The ministry said that 249 people were wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the civilian deaths were a 'tragic accident.'

Netanyahu said the Israeli Defense Forces tried to minimize civilian deaths by asking Gazans to evacuate, but 'despite our supreme effort not to harm uninvolved civilians, a tragic accident occurred to our regret last night.'

He accused Hamas of hiding among the general population, saying: 'For us, every uninvolved civilian who is hurt is a tragedy. For Hamas it's a strategy. That's the whole difference.'

The strike caused a fire that blazed through the camp in the Rafah governorate's Tal Al-Sultan area, reducing tents and shelters to ashes.

Footage released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society showed chaotic nighttime scenes of ambulances racing to the attack site and evacuating the wounded, including children.

As Palestinians cleared the site on Monday, only blackened metal sheeting and charred planks remained, the tent shelters having been all but obliterated.

The strike came after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive of Rafah and officials are trying to restart ceasefire negotiations.

It caused caused international outrage.

'The word tragic doesn't even begin to describe it,' Vice President Kamala Harris said of the strike.

'The devastating images following an IDF strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of innocent Palestinians are heartbreaking,' a spokesperson for President Biden's National Security Council said.

'Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. But as we've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians. We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened, and understand that the IDF is conducting an investigation.'

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was 'outraged' over Israel's latest attacks. 'These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,' he said on X.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the attack 'an indefensible atrocity', adding in a social media post that 'it is long past time for the President to live up to his word and suspend military aid.'

'Horrific and gut wrenching images coming out of Rafah last night,' Representative Ayanna Pressley. 'How much longer will the U.S. stand by while the Israeli military slaughters and mutilates Palestinian babies?'

Additionally, Israeli forces exchanged gunfire with Egyptian troops along their shared border that resulted in the death of at least one Egyptian soldier.

The IDF this afternoon reported a 'shooting incident' at the border close to the crossing into Gaza, adding that it was discussing the issue with the Egyptian authorities but revealed no further information.

'A few hours ago, a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border. The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians,' the military said this afternoon in a statement.

Cairo quickly confirmed the shooting as a military spokesman said authorities had opened an investigation into the incident.

'In Rafah, we already evacuated about 1 million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong,' Netanyahu said in a speech in parliament after the Rafah bombing over the din of opposition lawmakers shouting.

But the IDF is unlikely to back down from its Rafah offensive in southern Gaza, where millions of Palestinians fled when war broke out in the north.

Over the weekend Hamas launched rocket attacks on Tel Aviv from Rafah for the first time in four months, signaling the militant group is still capable of threatening Israel. All of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses.