Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – All European Union countries except Hungary warned Israel on Monday against launching an offensive in Rafah that they said would deepen the catastrophe of some 1.5 million refugees crammed into the city on the southern edge of Gaza.
"An attack on Rafah
would be absolutely catastrophic ... it would be unconscionable,"
Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said before a meeting of foreign
ministers from the 27 EU member states in Brussels.
After the talks ended, all but one of them called in a joint
statement for "an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a
lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision
of humanitarian assistance".
The statement was issued in the name of "Foreign Ministers of 26 Member-States of the European Union" and diplomats said Hungary - a close ally of the Israeli government - was the sole country that did not sign up.
"We ask the Israeli
Government not to take military action in Rafah that would worsen an already
catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision
of basic services and humanitarian assistance," the ministers said.
Israel on Sunday issued a warning, stating that an offensive
would be started in Rafah if Hamas does not release all captives held in Gaza
by March 10.
Ramadan – the Islamic holy month of fasting – this year
begins on 10 March.
This is the first time Israel has disclosed a potential date
for its forces to invade the congested southern metropolis of Gaza.
An attack like this in Rafah, where almost 1.5 million
Palestinians are seeking refuge, has been condemned by Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Iran and the US who fear a refugee crisis.
While speaking on Sunday, Israeli war cabinet member and
former defense minister Benny Gantz said;
“The world must know, and
Hamas leaders must know – if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting
will continue everywhere, to include the Rafah area”.
Gantz also said Israel would act in “a co-ordinated manner,
facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and
Egyptian partners to minimise civilian casualties”.
The Israeli war cabinet, which is made up of the leading security officers in Israel, was established a few days after terrorists headed by Hamas stormed Israel on October 7th, leaving at least 1,200 dead and capturing 253 prisoners. Israel estimates that roughly 130 captives are still being held in Gaza by Hamas.
According to reports, Gantz’s reference to Egypt might
intensify rumours that Israel anticipates that some Palestinians will flee the
Gaza Strip and take refuge on the Egyptian side of the border, where the
government is reportedly constructing a sizable walled enclosure specifically
for this purpose.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to
overthrow the Hamas militants in Rafah by going on the offensive
Egypt and a few other Arab nations have cautioned on several
occasions that an Israeli attack on Rafah would run the risk of forcing a large
number of Palestinians into Egypt, something they find unacceptable. In the
event that Rafah is overrun, Saudi Arabia has threatened “very serious
repercussions”.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 Comments