Ghastly, ghastly scenes in Rafah where the Israelis killed a number of Palestinians, most of them apparently children, during a demonstration against the Israeli military action taking place in Gaza. It's not yet clear how many children died, or what exactly happened. The Israelis say warning shots fired into a field or at nearby buildings may have ricocheted into the crowd. Whatever the explanation, the killing of children is always appalling, and a source of sorrow no less for Jews who watch the unfolding tragedy of Israel with ever deepening anguish and horror.

It was, of course, a disaster waiting to happen. What's going on in Rafah is a serious war, as the Israelis try to prevent the smuggling of ever greater missiles through the tunnels dug under Palestinian houses for that purpose and the Palestinian terror machine ferociously responds. If anyone doubts these tunnels exist, the BBC has (for once) performed a useful service by publishing pictures (which you can access, as ever, by clicking on the highlighted word above).

The question has to be asked, however, what Palestinian parents were doing allowing their children to be in harm's way in the middle of a bloody theatre of war. As Israel's defence minister Shaul Mofaz said:

'A war is underway here, one of the most difficult and complicated forms of urban warfare, with terrorists taking advantage of the [civilian] population'. In effect, the non-terrorist civilian population of Gaza is being held hostage by the architects of mass murder, who have deliberately sited their infernal death factories in and below houses in densely populated areas.

But of course, such considerations will count for little as this terrible incident will be twisted by the enemies of Israel into yet further specious evidence of 'war crimes'. It is inconceivable that the Israelis deliberately targeted civilians in this crowd. Yet the worst will undoubtedly be thought of them because the gross libel of 'war crimes' is now repeatedly being hung round their necks. This was almost certainly a tragic mistake. Maybe it was the result of incompetence; but malice is already being ascribed.

According to the Times, that vicious Israel-hater Gerald Kaufman has called Israel's actions in Rafah 'indiscriminate slaughter'. This is an appalling smear, not least because the Israelis are engaging in the immensely risky strategy of going from house to house to root out terrorists, who are firing at them. As ever, Israel is absolutely not engaging in 'indiscriminate slaughter, which would be the outcome if it ever used its immense military might and simply bombed Gaza to bits. The point the Israel and Jew-haters deliberately ignore is the blindingly obvious one: that it does not use this might, nor anything like the blanket force that the US and Britain tend to use.

This was, to repeat, an appalling incident. It is almost certainly Israel's fault. But it will be used for an appalling purpose -- to spread lies and libels about Israel, to once again turn its desperate attempt to prevent even more intense mass murder of its citizens into another gross lie about 'war crimes' in order to demonise the country which has been the principal victim of unremitting terror for more than half a century and thus delegitimise it as a prelude to its destruction.