WHO called on Israel to abandon the attack on Rafah

(Patria) - The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday called on Israel to "in the name of humanity" abandon the attack on Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

"I am gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan for a ground assault on Rafah. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to even greater death and suffering," Ghebreyesus wrote on social network X.

"In the name of humanity, we call on Israel to do so and to work towards peace," added Ghebreyesus, assessing that the evacuation planned by the Israeli army before the attack is not a feasible solution.

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

According to him, 1.2 million people in Rafah have no safe place to go, as there are no fully functional and safe health and other facilities in the Gaza Strip to which they could go.

"Many people are too fragile, hungry, and sick to be displaced again," said the head of WHO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the army's plans for an offensive in Rafah on Friday, a part of the territory bordering the closed border with Egypt, where many civilians, displaced by the Israeli offensive in the north, then in the center and south of the Gaza Strip, have found refuge.

That operation, which the US and the UN continue to warn about, could be carried out in the absence of a ceasefire agreement, or after a possible six-week pause in fighting.