Washington DC - The US said Tuesday it still considers Israel's assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah to be "limited in scope" despite a weekend attack that left 45 people dead as a blaze tore through a camp for displaced people.

"Right now, it is still our assessment that what is happening in Rafah, what the [Israel Defense Force] are doing, it is limited in scope," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Global outrage erupted after the Sunday strike by Israel.

Israel has called the loss of life "a tragic accident," and its army said Tuesday its munitions alone could not have caused the deadly blaze, adding that it had targeted and killed two senior Hamas militants in the strike.

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Earlier State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel's preliminary investigation suggested that the strike was carried out using "the smallest bomb in their arsenal."

Singh said the administration was waiting for the IDF to conclude its investigation into the incident before commenting further.

But she said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had engaged in "direct and frank conversations" with the Israeli government and US officials would continue to do so.

"We certainly take seriously what happened over the weekend. We've all seen the images. They're absolutely horrific," Singh added.

The White House also affirmed that President Joe Biden is not turning a "blind eye" to casualties in Gaza's Rafah.

"This is not something that we've turned a blind eye to," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters when asked "how many charred corpses" it would take for Biden to change course.

At the same time, Kirby said he had "no policy changes to speak to" following Sunday's strike.