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Manila Bulletin devider World devider A Rafah incursion would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk, UN aid agency says

A Rafah incursion would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk, UN aid agency says

Published May 3, 2024 12:47 pm

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.

AP24124332222927.jpg
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

The city has become critical for humanitarian aid and is highly concentrated with displaced Palestinians. Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious about any incursion into Rafah, where seven people — mostly children — were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike. On Thursday, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any U.S. response to such an incursion would be up to President Joe Biden, but that currently, "conditions are not favorable to any kind of operation." Turkey's trade minister said Friday that its new trade ban on Israel was in response to "the deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah."

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 Oct. 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.

Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages. Meanwhile, Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to keep working on cease-fire talks. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate.

Across the United States, tent encampments and demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war have spread across university campuses. More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past two weeks as students rally against the war's death toll and call for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel's military efforts in Gaza.

 

 

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