UN chief on Rafah offensive
Guterres warns of a “nail in the coffin” for aid programs in Gaza
February 26, 2024, 11:02 a.m
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The Israeli military has been planning an offensive on the city of Rafah since the beginning of February. Antonio Guterres warns urgently that the offensive would result in a humanitarian catastrophe. Netanyahu is sticking to the attack, saying this is the only way Hamas can be defeated quickly.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has once again warned urgently against an Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. “A full-scale Israeli offensive on the city would not only be terrible for the more than one million Palestinian civilians seeking protection there, but would also put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programs,” he said at the start in Geneva the spring session of the UN Human Rights Council.
He condemned the October 7 terrorist attacks by extremist Palestinians in Israel and Israel’s military response to them. Nothing can justify the killing, wounding, torturing and kidnapping of civilians and the use of sexual violence, he said. “And nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” warned Guterres.
Netanyahu is sticking to the offensive
Israel responded to the terrorist attacks with extensive military attacks in the Gaza Strip to destroy extremist structures. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the bombs and attacks and widespread destruction and have sought refuge in the border town of Rafah in the south of the coastal area. Despite strong criticism, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to stick to a planned offensive in the city of Rafah.
Recently, Netanyahu repeatedly emphasized that the city was a Hamas stronghold. With the planned military offensive on the city, Hamas could be defeated within a few weeks and the planned ceasefire would only delay victory. He reacted sharply to international warnings that the offensive would cause a humanitarian catastrophe. “Anyone who wants to prevent us from operating in Rafah is ultimately telling us ‘lose the war’.”