The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, warned this Tuesday that an assault on the city of Rafah “would be a strategic error, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare”, just at a time when the assault appears to have begun, albeit on a small scale.
“Even Israel's best friends are clear about this,” he added, referring to the United States, which has asked Israel to avoid a large-scale incursion in Rafah.
In a message addressed above all to Israel, Guterres stated that “things are moving in the wrong direction” and said he felt “disturbed” by the Israeli military activity in Rafah, for which he asked the Jewish state “to stop all escalation and get involved in constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks.”
Eyes on Rafah
A full-scale assault “will be a human catastrophe: more untold civilian casualties, more families forced to flee again, with nowhere to go, because there is no longer a safe place in Gaza,” Guterres warned.
He also asked Israel to “immediately open” the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, in southern Gaza, the only crossings through which humanitarian aid enters for the 1,5 million Gazans crowding into Rafah.
Guterres expressed his conviction that this is “a decisive moment for the people of Israel and Palestine, and for the future of the entire region.”
The Secretary General called on “those who have influence over Israel” to do everything in their power to avoid a tragedy, because - he recalled - “the international community has a shared responsibility to promote a humanitarian ceasefire, a liberation of hostages and a massive increase in humanitarian aid.”
