Hamas Urges Immediate UN Council Meeting on Israeli Rafah Threats

The media division operated by the Hamas-led government in Gaza urgently requested the UN Security Council to assemble right away due to Israel’s indications of a potential assault on Rafah. This city, situated in Gaza’s southern part near the Egyptian frontier, could face severe consequences from such actions.

The call for the UN Security Council to meet promptly and decisively aims to compel Israel to halt what the statement described as a genocidal conflict against the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza, with a warning of a potential disaster that might result in the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands.

Rafah is believed to house over 1.3 million individuals, predominantly refugees from different areas of Gaza, making it the final significant urban area in Gaza not under control by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced on Thursday that the IDF’s entry into Rafah, “Hamas’s final stronghold,” was imminent. He instructed the military the following day to strategize not only for the defeat of Hamas but also for the evacuation of Rafah’s residents, stating the impossibility of eradicating Hamas while allowing its forces to remain in Rafah.

Mustafa Barghouti, the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, expressed on Saturday that any assault on Rafah could lead to widespread killings and a broad ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s populace, labeling such actions as genocide.

Human Rights Watch has alerted to the severe repercussions that forcibly moving displaced Palestinians from Rafah could bring, emphasizing the Israeli military’s duty to protect civilians, irrespective of evacuation plans.