Drop Rafah invasion plan ‘in name of humanity’
WHO urges Israel as 1.2m people in the border city do not have anywhere safe to move to
The head of the World Health Organisation appealed to Israel "in the name of humanity" not to launch an assault on Rafah, where most of Gaza's population is sheltering.
"I'm gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening.
"Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering," he added.
"In the name of humanity, we appeal to Israel not to proceed and instead to work towards peace."
An evacuation planned by the Israeli army ahead of launching its assault was not a practical solution, he argued.
"The 1.2 million people in Rafah do not have anywhere safe to move to. There are no fully functional, safe health facilities that they can reach elsewhere in Gaza," he said. "Many people are too fragile, hungry and sick to be moved again...
"This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the military's "plans for action in Rafah", according to a statement Friday, which gave no details or a timeline.
The United Nations and the United States have also repeatedly warned against such a military operation, reports AFP.
Netanyahu has for weeks vowed to continue the offensive, having promised to destroy Hamas.
Israel has carried out relentless bombardment and a ground invasion that has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.
Volunteer doctors said they're struggling to provide medical care to people in Rafah.
Rafah lacks the healthcare facilities to treat this many people and a shortage of medicines and supplies is worsening the suffering, reports Al Jazeera online.
"It's impossible for medical facilities to accommodate this number of patients. We're operating in a camp housing around 1.5 million people. We receive medications to cover a week, but they run out in just one day," Ahmed Saad, volunteer at medical point in Rafah, said.
Samar Gregea, a displaced Palestinian from Gaza City, said: "We're facing shortages of medications, especially pediatric medicines. There are a lot of patients in the camp, with all children suffering from malnutrition, and the widespread presence of hepatitis A. Children require foods high in sugars, like dates, which are currently unavailable."