Israel Faces Warnings over Planned Offensive in Rafah
Updated 1 hour ago | 11 February 2024, 02:48 GMT
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Some 1.5 million Palestinians – including many children – are estimated to be now living in Rafah
Israel is facing growing international warnings over its planned offensive in Rafah – the city in southern Gaza crammed with Palestinian refugees.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said “over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area”, while Dutch FM Hanke Bruins Slot said there could be “many civilian casualties”.
Saudi Arabia warned of “very serious repercussions” if Rafah was stormed.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers said there could “tens of thousands” of casualties.
Initial Strike Follows High Death Toll Caused by Hamas`s Actions
Israel launched its operations in the Palestinian enclave after more than 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen.
More than 27,900 people have been killed and at least 67,000 injured in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Fear for Civilians’ Safety and Accessibility of Safe Zones
Many Gazans have ended up in Rafah having been forced to flee their homes elsewhere at least once.
“It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. It is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said.
Aid groups say it is not possible to evacuate everyone from the city on the border with Egypt.
UN humanitarian coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick, expressed concerns about the lack of safe areas for the people in Rafah if Israeli troops proceed with their offensive. “The safe areas that were declared are no longer safe. And if these people have to move – where can they move? We are really fearful of the horrific nature of where we are could only ever get worse,” he said.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians are believed to be in Rafah, seeking refuge from Israeli combat operations in the rest of the Gaza Strip. Most of them are living in tents.
International Outcry against the Planned Offensive
In a social media post, UK Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his concerns about the situation, calling for an immediate pause in the fighting to allow aid delivery and hostage release and urging progress towards a sustainable ceasefire.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, Hanke Bruins Slot, described the situation in Rafah as “very worrying” and voiced concerns over the potential civilian casualties and the humanitarian catastrophe that could arise from large-scale military operations in such a densely populated area.
Saudi Arabia, in a statement from its foreign ministry, warned against targeting Rafah, which has become a last resort for hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing the Israeli aggression. The ministry emphasized the immediate need for a ceasefire.
- At least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that their air force successfully eliminated two Hamas operatives in the southern city of Rafah
- The IDF, following their operations, discovered a tunnel shaft near a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), revealing an underground terrorist tunnel beneath UNRWA’s main headquarters
- Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, denied having any knowledge of a Hamas tunnel near the agency’s office, stating that the building had been evacuated by staff months ago
- Last month, a six-year-old girl who went missing in Gaza City was found dead with several of her relatives and two paramedics – after an apparent attack from Israeli tanks
The BBC is unable to independently verify many battlefield claims made during the course of the war.
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Watch: ‘We’ll never leave Gaza’ – Palestinians who fled to Rafah fear Israeli assault
