UNITED NATIONS, May 07 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for crossings into the besieged Gaza to be reopened immediately and urged Israel to “stop any escalation” after the occupying power sent tanks into Rafah where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.
“I am disturbed and distressed by the renewed military activity in Rafah by the Israeli defence forces,” he told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.
“The closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately.
“I urge the Government of Israel to stop any escalation, and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks.”
Israel overnight sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing control of the border crossing with Egypt, an operation the United Nations said denied it access to the key humanitarian passage.
The military’s thrust into the eastern sector of the city packed with displaced civilians came a day after Israel warned Palestinians in the area to evacuate ahead of a long-threatened ground operation.
Army footage showed tanks flying the Israeli flag taking “operational control” of the Palestinian side of the border crossing, it said, in a deployment that had a “very limited scope against very specific targets”.
UN humanitarian office spokesman Jens Laerke said Israel had denied it access to both Rafah and Kerem Shalom – the other main Gaza aid crossing, on the border with Israel – with only “one day of fuel available” inside the besieged territory.
Unless fuel was allowed in, “it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave”, he warned.
Overnight, heavy bombardments rocked Rafah, according to media reports. The Kuwaiti hospital said 23 people were killed and the Najjar hospital said another four people were killed.
Hamas said last night that it had informed Egypt and Qatar of its “approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire” in the conflict, prompting cheering crowds to take to the streets of Rafah.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands”, but the government would send negotiators for talks “to exhaust the potential for arriving at an agreement”.
In the meantime, it added, “Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other objectives of the war”.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, said it was “reviewing” the Hamas response.
In his remarks, the UN chief reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire, while underscoring the need for an agreement between the Government of Israel and the leadership of Hamas to stop the “unbearable suffering” of both Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli hostages and their families.
“It would be tragic if weeks of intense diplomatic activity for peace in Gaza, yield no ceasefire. No release of hostages. And a devastating offensive in Rafah,” he said, stressing:
“I reiterate my appeal for both parties to show the political courage and spare no effort to secure an agreement now.”
The UN chief further emphasized that a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a “human catastrophe”.
“Countless more civilian casualties. Countless more families forced to flee yet again – with nowhere safe to go. Because there is no safe place in Gaza,” Guterres said.
“Attacking Rafah will further upend our efforts to support people in dire humanitarian straits as famine looms.”
Guterres also warned that the repercussions of an attack on Rafah would be felt far beyond the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and the wider Middle East region.
“Even the best friends of Israel are clear: An assault on Rafah would be a strategic mistake, a political calamity, and a humanitarian nightmare,” he said.
“I appeal to all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to help avert even more tragedy.”
