Benjamin Netanyahu approves military’s Operation Rafah plan (Document)
Gaza:
The head of the World Health Organization on Saturday called on Israel “in the name of humanity” not to launch an attack on Rafah, where most Gaza residents have taken refuge.
“I am seriously concerned by reports that Israel is planning a ground attack on Rafah,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area will result in more death and suffering,” he added.
“In the name of humanity, we call on Israel not to move forward but to work towards peace.”
I am seriously concerned by reports that Israel is planning a ground attack on Rafah. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area will result in more death and suffering, especially as health facilities are already overwhelmed. #gazapic.twitter.com/hWichKUKj9
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 16, 2024
He argued that the planned withdrawal of Israeli forces before launching an offensive was not a practical solution.
“The 1.2 million people in Rafah have no safe place to move to.
“There are no fully functioning, safe medical facilities available to them elsewhere in Gaza,” he said. “Many are too fragile, hungry and sick to move again…
“This humanitarian disaster must not be allowed to worsen.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the military’s Operation Rafah plan, according to a statement on Friday, without providing details or a timetable.
The United Nations and the United States have also repeatedly warned against such military action.
Netanyahu has for weeks vowed to continue the war and promised to destroy Hamas after an attack by Islamist militants on October 7.
According to official AFP statistics, Hamas attacks resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,160 people in Israel, most of them civilians.
Israel responded with relentless bombing and ground incursions into Gaza, killing at least 31,553 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
