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Cloud of smoke over Rafah on Wednesday
Photo: Ahmed Zakot / REUTERS
Concern is growing about a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah: As the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reports, eleven people were killed in an air strike on the city in the south of the coastal region. They were said to be members of a family. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Israel has been preparing a major attack on Rafah for weeks. The government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the city as the last stronghold of Hamas, which killed around 1,140 people and kidnapped around 250 others to the Gaza Strip in its massacre on October 7, 2023. The devastating terrorist attack triggered the Israeli invasion of the sealed-off coastal strip.
According to Israel, the civilian population in Rafah should be protected during the advance through prior evacuation. However, the USA and numerous other countries doubt that the project can be implemented without massive civilian losses. Since large parts of the Gaza Strip have already become uninhabitable due to Israel's military operations, it is estimated that more than a million refugees are waiting in Rafah. The debate over the advance on Rafah has recently caused increasing tensions with the USA, Israel's most important ally.
The relationship between Israel and the UN has also recently come under pressure in view of the ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip. UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese now defended her report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which she accused Israel of genocide and described it as an apartheid state because of its treatment of the Palestinians.
When asked whether the criticism could make her give up, Albanese said in a press conference: "Absolutely not, that will never happen." Although the criticism makes her angry, it only confirms her to continue her work. “Human rights work means making the voices of people who are not heard heard,” she said.
UN special rapporteur Albanese renews criticism
The Israeli government had accused Albanese of wanting to question Israel's right to exist. Diplomatic representatives of other countries also criticize her strong presence on social and other media, in addition to her role as special rapporteur, in which she always sharply criticizes Israel's actions.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts. The UN Human Rights Council appoints them to present reports on specific topics or countries. They work for free and are not part of the United Nations.
Albanese now said her message remains clear: "Nothing justifies what Israel is doing (in the Gaza Strip)." In her report, Albanese had called for an arms embargo against Israel and sanctions. She justified this by saying that she was convinced that Israel was violating international humanitarian law with the Gaza war, which has now left more than 30,000 dead.
According to health authorities in the Gaza Strip, at least 32,490 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 75,000 injured since Israel's operation began. The numbers cannot be independently verified.
fek/Reuters/dpa