Guterres: Military offensive in Rafah would be a nail in the coffin for aid programs
Published: Monday, Feb 26th 2024, 10:10
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres has once again issued an urgent warning against an Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
"A full-scale Israeli offensive on the city would not only be terrible for the more than one million Palestinian civilians seeking protection there, but would also put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programs," he said on Monday in Geneva at the start of the spring session of the UN Human Rights Council.
He condemned the terrorist attacks by extremist Palestinians in Israel on October 7 and Israel's military response to them. Nothing can justify the killing, injuring, torturing and kidnapping of civilians and the use of sexual violence, he said. "And nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," Guterres said.
Israel has responded to the terrorist attacks with extensive military strikes in the Gaza Strip in order to destroy extremist structures. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the bombs and attacks and the widespread destruction and have sought refuge in the border town of Rafah in the south of the coastal region.
Despite fierce criticism, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to stick to his planned offensive in the city of Rafah. The head of government repeatedly emphasized that it would be impossible to achieve his war goal of eliminating Hamas if four Hamas battalions remained in Rafah.
©Keystone/SDA
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