Rafah invasion ‘could kill 100s of thousands’

THE United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Rafah has become a crucial humanitarian hub for distribution of aid into Gaza.

Rafah is pivotal for food, water, health, sanitation, hygiene and other critical support to the people there, including hundreds of thousands of Gazans who fled fighting elsewhere. But most importantly, Laerke told reporters at a regular UN briefing in Geneva, the hundreds of thousands of people there “would be at imminent risk of death if there is an assault.” World Health Organization officials said they have been preparing contingency plans for a possible assault in Rafah. They noted, meanwhile, that more food has been reaching beleaguered Palestinians in recent weeks, but the threat of famine remains.

Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for occupied Palestinian areas, said by videoconference that the threat of famine had “absolutely not” declined. Dr Ahmed Dahir, the head of WHO’s office in Gaza, said the food situation was fragile, and “the risk of famine has not passed.”

An Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight Friday killed seven people – mostly children. The Biden administration, which provides Israel crucial military and diplomatic support, says it opposes a Rafah invasion unless Israel provides a “credible” plan for protecting civilians there.

Turkey, an important Israeli trading partner, has suspended all imports and exports to Israel. The country’s trade minister says the move was in response to “the deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah.”

International mediators are trying to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, and a leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated negotiations.

The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and the territory’s entire population has been driven into a humanitarian catastrophe.

The war began on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said two Palestinian detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli custody, including a prominent surgeon seized by troops during a raid on a hospital. The surgeon, Dr Adnan alBorsh, 50, was head of the orthopedic department in Gaza’s Shifa hospital.

The cause of their deaths was not immediately known. Israeli and Palestinian rights groups have reported harsh conditions in Israeli prisons for the hundreds of Palestinians detained from Gaza, including beatings and medical neglect.

The Israeli prison authority and army officials had no comment.