WHO urges 'Israel' to halt planned assault on Rafah
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WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that it was impractical to go forward with an "evacuation plan" and that the 1.2 million Palestinians in Rafah have nowhere safe to relocate to.
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A Palestinian boy sits outside a residential building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 9, 2024 (AP)
The President of the World Health Organization (WHO) implored the Israeli occupation "in the name of humanity" not to begin an assault on Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's population is fleeing.
"I'm gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah," WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X.
"Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering," he went on to say.
I’m gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering, especially with health facilites already overwhelmed. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/hWichKUKj9
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 16, 2024
Ghebreyesus remarked that it was impractical to go forward with the so-called "evacuation plan" and that the 1.2 million Palestinians in Rafah have nowhere safe to relocate to.
He also added that many Palestinians are "too fragile, hungry, and sick" to relocate and the "Catastrophe" taking place in Gaza should not be allowed to worsen.
US President Joe Biden is reportedly contemplating the possibility of linking military aid to "Israel" with its decision to proceed with a substantial invasion of Rafah, Politico reported.
Biden's willingness to explore this option underscores the heightened tensions in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has previously rebuffed more nuanced attempts by the Biden administration to influence his handling of the current aggression on Gaza.
The American President stated on MSNBC last Saturday that he opposed the war escalating into Rafah and that he could not tolerate "30,000 more Palestinians dead."
The United Nations drafted a new resolution, which is not yet available for vote, for the United Nations Security Council, expressing concern about the Israeli plan to invade Rafah, and encompassing a truce between "Israel" and Hamas, CNN reported on Friday.
The draft reportedly highlights how the invasion of Rafah would cause more civilian losses and casualties, provoking escalated tensions and jeopardizing regional peace and security.
Netanyahu vows to 'finish the job' in Rafah, achieve 'total victory'
Benjamin Netanyahu recently proclaimed that the country's "very survival is at stake", and believed that "total victory" is attainable.
According to Netanyahu, for the Israeli occupation "to win this war," it must "destroy the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah," otherwise "Hamas will regroup, rearm, and reconquer Gaza, and then we’re back to square one."
This statement assumes that the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip's center and north have been overcome. However, recent reports of major ambushes, among other operations, are proof that the Israeli occupation has failed to "destroy" the Resistance in general, and Hamas in specific, in neither the North nor the center of the Strip.
"We will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm’s way," claimed Netanyahu, who made a baseless claim that the Israeli occupation forces deployed in the Strip had "taken measures to minimize civilian casualties that no other army has taken in history."
Moreover, the Prime Minister reaffirmed that the war in the Strip only ends with either complete victory or absolute defeat as he claimed, "We will destroy Hamas, free our hostages, and ensure that Gaza doesn’t ever pose a threat to Israel again."
