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Annalena Baerbock (during a visit to the Rafah border crossing on January 9th): “The people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air.”

Photo:

Michael Kappeler/dpa

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has urgently warned against an Israeli military offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip and at the same time announced another trip to Israel. “An offensive by the Israeli army on Rafah would be a humanitarian catastrophe,” wrote the Green politician on X (formerly Twitter). "The people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air."

Baerbock pointed out that the need in Rafah was already unbelievable and that 1.3 million people there were seeking protection from the fighting in the Gaza Strip in a very small space. Another ceasefire is necessary, also in order to achieve the release of more Hamas hostages. “I will discuss how to get there again next week in Israel,” added Baerbock. The Foreign Office said the minister would travel to Israel in the middle of next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army on Friday to develop a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah. The invasion is apparently getting closer. Netanyahu said a “massive operation” was needed in Rafah. He had asked security officials to present a "dual plan" that included the evacuation of civilians and a military operation to "destroy" the remaining militant Hamas units.

The news agencies dpa and Reuters, citing eyewitnesses, unanimously reported that Israel was already carrying out its first air attacks on targets in Rafah. More than 20 people are said to have been killed in aerial attacks on two houses on Saturday. The AFP news agency, citing witnesses, wrote that the Israeli army was bombing targets in the area around Rafah.

BBC reports on critical supply situation in northern Gaza

The supply situation in the north of the Gaza Strip currently appears critical. The BBC reported, citing the UN World Food Program, that four of the last five aid convoys to the north had been stopped by Israeli forces. Several UN organizations concluded in a famine risk assessment that almost a third of the estimated 300,000 people remaining in the northern areas could now face a "catastrophic" food shortage. Eyewitnesses reported that people in the area lived on rice, and in some cases animal feed was ground into flour. The reports have not yet been verifiable.

sol/dpa/AFP/Reuters