Iraq's influential Shiite religious leader Muqtada Sadr has called for the closure of the US embassy in Baghdad after dozens were killed in an Israeli attack on a Palestinian camp in Rafah.

‘I reiterate my demand for the expulsion of the US ambassador from Iraq’ and ‘the closure of the embassy by diplomatic means without bloodshed’, Sadr said in a statement on X.

Muqtada Sadr condemned the ‘genocide’ in Gaza and the ‘bombing of the camps in Rafah’ and the ‘shameful’ American support for Israel in the devastating war on the Palestinian territories since 7 October.

The former militia leader, who fought against US forces after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, has a large popular following in Iraq and has great influence on the country's politics.

In late October, Sadr called on the Iraqi government to ‘close’ the American embassy in Baghdad because of Washington's ‘unconditional support’ for Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, an Israeli attack on Rafah on Sunday evening killed 45 people, wounded 249 and set fire to Palestinian tents in a camp for displaced persons.

The attack has caused a wave of outrage abroad and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is expected to be held on Tuesday.

While all political parties in Iraq support the Palestinian cause, Iraq, like Iran, does not recognise the state of Israel.