Netanyahu says Israeli forces will soon invade Rafah.
The Israeli Prime Minister said the army would do so going in soon to an area in Gaza near the border with Egypt where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled, something the United Nations says would be catastrophic.
Health officials in Gaza say more than 27,000 people – many of them women and children – have been killed in Israel's bombardment and ground assault on Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on October 7. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israeli troops were ordered to deploy in Rafah, near the southern border, and in camps in central Gaza, calling the areas “the last remaining strongholds of Hamas.”
Fighting in Rafah could worsen the humanitarian situation there, he said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It could lead to a “large-scale loss of civilian lives,” he said on Tuesday.
As the Israeli army has expanded its assault on southern towns such as Khan Younis in recent months, more than half of Gaza's population – 1.4 million Palestinians – have fled to Rafah and have struggled to find food and shelter. the United Nations' main agency said. helps Palestinian refugees in Gaza, known as UNRWA.
Many Palestinians say Rafah – or any part of Gaza – is no longer safe. After several attempts to seek safety over the past four months, many have been left terrified and exhausted.
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is present his fifth voyage to the Middle East since October 7, said Wednesday that it is especially important to protect civilians in Rafah.
“Israel has a responsibility, an obligation, to do everything possible to ensure that civilians are protected and that they receive the assistance they need as this conflict continues,” Mr. Blinken said during his visit to Israel . He stopped in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt this week to support ceasefire negotiations that would allow the remaining hostages in Gaza to be freed and more humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinians.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, António Guterres, the UN secretary general, called the situation in Gaza “a festering wound on our collective conscience that threatens the entire region,” and said he was particularly alarmed by reports that the Israeli army plans to advance towards Rafah.
Such action, he said, would only worsen what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences. “It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” Mr Guterres said.
“We can make it clear what the law says. Under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas can amount to war crimes,” said Mr Laerke. told reporters in Geneva.
More than half of Gaza's buildings have been damaged or destroyed, Palestinian officials say, forcing millions of Palestinians to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.