Global outcry for immediate end to Rafah invasion ‘too strong to ignore,’ UN aid chief says

UN humanitarian affairs coordinator Martin Griffiths said the global outcry against the Israeli army’s invasion of the town of Rafah in southern Gaza has “become too loud to ignore.”

The UN relief chief said in a statement Friday that the Rafah attack “displaced more than 800,000 people, once again fleeing in fear of their lives and arriving in areas without adequate shelter, latrines and without drinking water.

The invasion, Griffith said, disrupted the flow of aid to southern Gaza and crippled a humanitarian operation already stretched beyond its breaking point.

He also said the attack on Rafah had disrupted food distributions in southern Gaza and slowed the supply of fuel for livelihoods in the coastal territory.

“Although Israel has rejected calls from the international community to spare Rafah, the global clamor for an immediate end to this offensive has become too loud to ignore,” the UN relief chief added.

Griffiths spoke of the Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2730, which calls for the protection of humanitarian workers, and the International Court of Justice’s order to open the Rafah crossing to provide large-scale aid and y put an end to the military offensive, declaring: “This is the moment of clarity.

“Now is the time to demand respect for the rules of war to which all are bound: civilians must be allowed to seek safety. Humanitarian aid must be facilitated without obstruction,” he said. “Aid workers and UN staff must be able to carry out their work safely. »

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Griffiths ultimately reiterated his demand for the release of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners, as well as an agreement on a comprehensive ceasefire to end the ongoing nightmare in Gaza.

Earlier on Friday, the International Court of Justice said Israel must “immediately end its military offensive and any other actions in the Rafah governorate that could inflict living conditions on the Palestinian group in Gaza that could lead to its total or partial physical destruction. in part.”

Israel launched its ground invasion of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had taken refuge, despite international warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.

The ICJ, widely known as the World Court, ordered the Israeli regime to open the Rafah crossing to ensure “unhindered” access for humanitarian aid.

The order was passed by a panel of 15 international judges by a vote of 13 to 2, with only judges from Uganda and Israel itself opposing it.

Israel has launched its gruesome attack on the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences and places of worship since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7. .

At least 35,857 Palestinians were killed, mostly women and children, and another 80,293 people were injured. More than 1.7 million people were also internally displaced during the war.