UN warns of ‘slaughter’ if Israel launches ground assault on Rafah
A senior United Nations official has cautioned that a potential Israeli attack on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, may result in a “massacre.”
Martin Griffiths, the head of humanitarian affairs, emphasized that the ongoing assault on Palestinians in Gaza is unprecedented in its severity, cruelty, and scale.
Griffiths underscored that the repercussions of a military incursion into Rafah would be disastrous. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to eliminate Hamas militants allegedly taking refuge in the city.
Griffiths issued a remarkably forceful statement, highlighting that over a million individuals are crammed into Rafah, facing imminent danger. He emphasized the dire conditions faced by civilians, including severe shortages of food and medicine and a lack of safe havens.
He warned that an Israeli offensive in the city would severely compromise the already fragile humanitarian efforts in the region.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the BBC’s Newshour program the UN had not received any Rafah evacuation plans from Israel and would not participate in any forced evacuation.
Stephane Dujarric said: “The United Nations will not be a party to any forced displacement of people.”
Rafah is a small city in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. Before the war, it was home to around 250,000 people, but since Israel ordered civilians to evacuate south its population has swelled to an estimated 1.5 million.
Many are living in tents in desperate conditions and say they have nowhere to go.
Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with at least 67 people killed there on Monday according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Mr Griffiths also said humanitarian workers working in Gaza had been “shot at, held at gunpoint, attacked and killed” because of the breakdown in law and order.
His statement came as negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza resumed in Cairo.
Senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar met on Tuesday, as pressure mounted on Israel from the international community not to invade Rafah.
Mr Guterres said that hoped the talks would be successful in avoiding an Israeli attack on the city.
But subsequent statements following the meeting from the Egyptian State Information Service indicated there had been no breakthrough.
It said the meeting “confirmed the extreme danger of escalating operations in Rafah in southern Gaza and warned of the serious consequences of such an action”, but made no announcement of progress towards peace.
US President Joe Biden has warned Israel that civilians must be protected. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has told Israel to “stop and think seriously” before attacking Rafah.
At least 1,200 people were killed during attacks in Israel by Hamas-led gunmen on 7 October last year.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip. More than 28,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 68,000 wounded since the war began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
