Israel’s war cabinet decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah, despite the announcement by Hamas of its acceptance of a ceasefire proposal.
Saudi Arabia has warned that an Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah is “part of its systematic bloody campaign” to storm all areas of the enclave and displace its residents.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the kingdom’s “warning of the dangers of the Israeli occupation forces targeting the city of Rafah as part of its systematic bloody campaign to storm all areas of the Gaza Strip and displace its residents towards the unknown.”
This is “in light of the lack of safe zones after the massive destruction caused by the Israeli war machine,” the statement added.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses Saudi Arabia’s warning of the dangers of the Israeli occupation forces targeting the city of Rafah as part of its systematic bloody campaign to storm all areas of the Gaza Strip and displace its residents towards the unknown. pic.twitter.com/3AQs9WgqUU
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) May 6, 2024
The Ministry said it “affirms the Kingdom’s categorical rejection” of Israel’s “continued blatant violations of all international resolutions calling for the cessation of these massacres.”
As well as “their violation of international law and international humanitarian law without deterrence, which exacerbates the humanitarian crisis and limits international peace efforts,” it added.
The Ministry said it renewed its demand “for the international community to intervene immediately to stop the genocide carried out by the occupation forces against defenseless civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
‘Deep Disappointment’- Israel Frustrated by US Role in Ceasefire Mediation
Israel Snubs Truce Offer
Israel’s war cabinet decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah, despite the announcement by the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas of its acceptance of a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Tel Aviv reportedly said the truce offer accepted by Hamas does not meet its key demands.
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders early on Monday for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, calling on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza. Approximately 100,000 Palestinians residing in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah are affected by this evacuation process.
Roughly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, with many having been displaced from other areas destroyed by Israel in its ongoing military assault on the besieged enclave.
Speaking from Rafah on Tuesday, UNRWA’s Communications Officer, Louise Wateridge, said “For us here in Rafah there’s just a lot of fear. Everywhere you look, there’s fear. Nobody has a clear path where to go. There is no advice on where to go. There is no safety to be led to.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah would be “intolerable” because of its devastating humanitarian consequences.
“A ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences and because of its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres stressed.
He earlier said on X that “Protection of civilians is paramount in int’l humanitarian law.”
Nowhere Else to Go – Rafah Refugees Call on the World to Intervene
Over 34,000 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,789 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,204 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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