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The situation of the population in Rafah is already catastrophic

Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP

Before an expected attack on the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the civilians waiting there a safe corridor. "We will provide the civilian population with a safe route out of the city," Netanyahu said, according to excerpts from an interview broadcast on US broadcaster ABC News on Sunday.

In view of Israeli plans for an offensive on the city, warnings of dramatic consequences for the refugees stranded there had increased. Meanwhile, Israel reported the discovery of a Hamas tunnel under the headquarters of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in the Gaza Strip.

»We are working out a detailed plan for this. “We are not taking this matter lightly,” emphasized Netanyahu, according to the previously published interview excerpts, with a view to finding an escape route for civilians. Areas north of Rafah have already been cleared and can be used as safe zones for civilians, he said. At the same time, he emphasized that victory was “within reach”: “We will do it. We will take the remaining Hamas terror battalions and the last bastion of Rafah.”

More than a million refugees from other parts of the Palestinian territory are stranded in Rafah due to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu ordered his army on Friday to present a "combined plan to evacuate the population and destroy the Hamas battalions" in Rafah.

“Humanitarian catastrophe with an announcement”

The city also came under fire on Saturday. Palestinian security circles said that, among other things, five police officers were killed. The Israeli military said it killed two senior Hamas members in an attack.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) called the threatened attacks on Rafah on the online service X (formerly Twitter) a “humanitarian catastrophe with an announcement.” The need in the city is “already unbelievable.” 1.3 million people sought protection from the fighting there in a very small space and could not "disappear into thin air."

The radical Islamic group Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, warned of a “catastrophe and a massacre” that could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also warned on

The Israeli army and the Shin Beth secret service said on Saturday that during operations in the city of Gaza, a tunnel entrance had been discovered near a school run by the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

He was "an important asset for Hamas' military intelligence services." The "electrical infrastructure" of the 700-meter-long facility is "connected" to the aid organization's headquarters, it said. This indicates that the tunnel was apparently "supplied with electricity from UNRWA installations."

In view of the Israeli information, the UN aid agency said that it had no longer used its headquarters in the city of Gaza since October 12th. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X that this was done on the instructions of Israeli troops. He knew nothing about a tunnel.

This information was rejected by Israel's Foreign Minister Katz. Lazzarini's statements were "not only absurd, but also an affront to common sense," he explained on X. The UNRWA chief's "immediate resignation" was "absolutely necessary."

UN aid agency is said to be involved in Hamas attack from Israel

Serious allegations have recently become known against UNRWA employees: Twelve employees of the UN aid agency are suspected of being involved in the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th. In response to the allegations, countries such as Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the USA announced that they would temporarily stop their payments to the aid organization. The UN wants to have the allegations investigated by an independent committee.

According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were brutally killed and 250 were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip during the attack on Israel by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA. Israel then announced the destruction of Hamas and launched a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas' latest figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 28,000 people have been killed there since then.

kae/AFP