The warning comes because the UN Palestine refugee company, UNRWA, reported that over the previous week that almost 300,000 folks have now fled Rafah following the Israeli army’s orders for additional evacuations from space.
“There’s nowhere secure to go,” the company warned in a message on X.
Catastrophic penalties
In a phone dialog on Saturday, UN chief António Guterres and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Overseas Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani agreed that “a full-scale army operation in Rafah would have catastrophic penalties and have to be prevented,” based on a report of the dialog printed by the workplace of the Secretary-Normal’s spokesperson.
“The Secretary-Normal expressed deep appreciation for Qatar’s continued mediation efforts to dealer a deal for an pressing ceasefire in Gaza and the quick launch of hostages,” he mentioned.
Mr. Guterres additionally mentioned the state of affairs in Gaza on Sunday in Kuwait Metropolis with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber.
In a remark to the press on Sunday, the UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, mentioned he was “deeply distressed by the quick deterioration in Gaza as Israeli forces intensify their air strikes” throughout Gaza.
He additionally expressed concern about stories of indiscriminate rocket fireplace from Gaza.
‘The place ought to they go now?’
Mr. Türk famous that the newest evacuation orders from the Israeli military concern practically one million folks in Rafah. For the reason that Israeli army issued preliminary evacuation orders on 6 Might, greater than 278,000 Gazans have fled Rafah, an space one deemed a secure zone.
“The place ought to they go now? There is no such thing as a secure place in Gaza,” he mentioned.
These are exhausted and hungry folks, a lot of whom have already been displaced a number of occasions, and don’t have good choices, he mentioned.
Different cities in Gaza, together with Khan Younis, which is at the moment imagined to host displaced folks from Rafah, have already been decreased to rubble and stay below assault.
“These will not be secure locations,” he burdened.
Flouting world courtroom orders
The human rights chief mentioned he didn’t see how the newest evacuation orders, a lot much less a basic assault, in an space with an especially dense presence of civilians, will be reconciled with the binding calls for of worldwide humanitarian legislation and with the 2 units of binding provisional measures ordered by the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ).
“A big-scale offensive on Rafah can not happen,” he mentioned, calling on all influential States to do every thing of their energy to forestall it to guard civilian lives.
Dire help scarcity amid border closures
On the similar time, there’s a “dire scarcity” of help reaching Gaza, Mr. Türk mentioned.
“At this determined second, exacerbated by acts impeding the entry of humanitarian help in Gaza via the three crossings, there’s a dire scarcity of gas,” he warned.
Gas shortages are “hindering every thing”, from the motion of meals and operation of hospitals to sewage therapy and telecommunications, he added.
Expressing concern for the security of civilians and humanitarian staff, he known as on Israel and Palestinian armed teams to urgently conform to a ceasefire and instantly launch all hostages.