International aid and rights groups have expressed grave concerns about the “catastrophic” consequences of an imminent Israeli attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid the months-long genocidal war against Palestinians trapped in the besieged territory.
Six humanitarian and human rights organizations including Oxfam, Amnesty International, ActionAid, War Child, the Danish Refugee Council, and Handicap International jointly condemned the Israeli regime forces’ ceaseless attacks from air, land, and sea, calling on Tel Aviv to stop what they described as “collective punishment” of the Palestinians.
The Israeli regime’s relentless bombing of Gaza has forced the hapless residents to flee towards the southern town of Rafah, bordering Egypt.
Now the Israeli military is carrying out airstrikes on the border city and is preparing to launch a ground invasion.
“We are appalled by the harrowing developments in Rafah, Gaza’s most populated area where 1.5 million people are sheltering as their last resort – over half a million of them children,” the joint statement said.
“If Israel launches its proposed ground offensive, thousands more civilians will be killed and the current trickle of humanitarian aid risks coming to a complete halt. If this military plan is not stopped immediately, the consequences will be catastrophic,” the statement added.
In addition to international organizations and aid groups, the Israeli regime’s threat to enter Rafah has been nearly universally criticized by world leaders, the international community, and Tel Aviv’s allies, as well.
They have unanimously called on the Zionist regime to refrain from the seemingly looming large-scale military land attack planned against the Palestinians gathered in Rafah which hosts UN humanitarian efforts.
The Israeli regime’s so-called prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims the ground invasion is a necessary move for the total eradication of the Palestinian Hamas resistance fighters. “We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
“The EU asks Israel not to take military action in Rafah that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation,” said Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in a tweet on X. “All civilians must be protected in line with international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are in dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah seeking food and shelter.
The Israeli regime has repeatedly pummeled the area with numerous airstrikes, killing scores more of the Palestinians trapped in Gaza, already suffering from acute shortages of food and water.
According to reports, the death toll in Gaza increased to 28,775 whereas more than 68,500 people were injured in the Israeli attacks.
In related news, Egypt is constructing a walled enclosure along its border with Gaza, sparking concerns over potential Palestinian displacement as Israel considers expanding its offensive into Rafah.
Satellite imagery confirms the wall around Rafah, prompting fears of a refugee crisis in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
UN officials have expressed concerns about the possible flow of refugees into Egypt and preparations for managing the potential refugee influxes are already underway.
