PNN – Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of the organization’s aid department, warned that people in Rafah, like the rest of the population of Gaza, are victims of an offensive that is “unparalleled in intensity, brutality and scope”. With more than a million displaced people, he says, the city is “full” of people “staring at death.”
The key words used by a senior UN official in his brief report on the situation in Rafah take the breath away in every reader’s chest and ignite the feeling of “the apocalyptic moment” in the soul of every audience. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of the organization’s aid department, has warned that Israel’s attack on Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, could lead to “massacre.”
“One and a half million Rafah residents staring at death” is a horrible expression that this UN official used to describe the mental state of these oppressed people. According to him, the people in Rafah, like the rest of the population of Gaza, are victims of an invasion that is “unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and extent”. In an unusually harsh statement, Griffiths called the aftermath of the invasion of Rafah “tragic,” saying the city, with more than a million displaced people, was “full” of people “staring at death.”
In a situation where Benjamin Netanyahu has put the Israeli army on alert to attack Rafah, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations says, “There is no safe place for people to go, and people hardly have access to food or medicine.”
The concern about the possibility of the Zionist attack on Rafah was not limited to this UN commissioner. The Secretary General also warned against such an action in his speech. Antonio Guterres said: “A possible attack on Rafah will have devastating consequences, because this city is the center of humanitarian organizations’ work.” Of course, he also mentioned that the coordination mechanisms used to protect the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza are not effective.
Guterres also pointed to the restrictions imposed by the Zionist regime on the distribution of aid, and expressed his concern about the deterioration of conditions and security related to sending humanitarian aid to Gaza and the collapse of public order in this area. In another part of his statement, the Secretary General of the United Nations expressed deep concern about the number of journalists who were martyred during these attacks and emphasized: “Freedom of the press is a basic condition for informing the people about the truth of the current developments around the world.”
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Rafah, the anxiety capital of the world
While the violent aggression of the Zionists in the last 5 months, the entire Gaza Strip has faced bitter tragedies, a significant part of the residents of the northern areas of Gaza have migrated to the southern parts. With the start of attacks on the north of the Gaza Strip, the Zionist army claimed that the south of this area is safe under siege and the residents of the north can go to this area. But with the continuation of the war, he expanded the ground and air attacks to the south of the Gaza Strip and Khan Yunis in particular to displace the Palestinian refugees once again. In a situation where the natural population of Rafah is estimated to be around 250 thousand people, now with the arrival Refugees from more northern areas, the number of residents of this city has reached one and a half million people.
According to estimates, nearly one million and 200 thousand displaced people of Gaza have taken refuge in the southernmost city of this strip and are living in the most difficult living conditions. The Zionist regime, despite the warnings of its western allies such as the United States and France, is now preparing the ground for an attack on Rafah, and the Chief of Army Staff of this regime, Herzi Halevi, has announced that he has approved the plan for a ground attack on Rafah. It seems that the countdown has started for another crime to happen in this oppressed city. Martin Griffith’s description of the Palestinian refugees camping in Rafah, who “stare at death” can well and bitterly show the amount of fear and anxiety of the homeless women, children and elderly.
Rafah is now home to more than half of Gaza’s population displaced by the war, and is also the main route for humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million people who are in dire need. The media images of the endless rows of tents that house the huge population of displaced people are among the most shameful scenes that offend the conscience of every human being. Lack of food and medicine, as well as the possibility of epidemics of dangerous diseases, threaten innocent Palestinian refugees.
After the massive attacks on Khan Yunis, these refugees have now been transferred to Rafah and the Zionist regime is trying to forcibly relocate them outside the Palestinian territories. In this context, recently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk evaluated these threats of the Zionist authorities as worrying.
South Africa’s renewed pressure on the International Court of Justice
South Africa emphasized that considering the existing facts and the massacre of Palestinians by the Zionist regime, it expects a quick response from the International Court of Justice and the implementation of immediate measures regarding Rafah.
In a press conference, the spokesperson of the President of South Africa emphasized the need for immediate action to ensure the prevention of further mass killings in the Gaza Strip and said: “The International Court of Justice should use its power to defend its orders and take temporary measures without holding a hearing, considering the dangerous conditions in Rafah province in the south of the Gaza Strip.”
Pointing out that South Africa is waiting for the court’s response, he emphasized that it is expected that the court will respond with the necessary speed in view of the continuous daily killings. This spokesperson strongly expressed concern about the possibility of a military attack on Rafah and said: “This issue constitutes a serious violation of the agreement on mass killing and the judgment of the court on January 26, 2024.”
Previously, South Africa’s permanent representative to the United Nations emphasized that Israel’s attack on Rafah means ignoring the preventive measures that the International Court of Justice adopted against Israel on January 26.
The South African president’s spokesperson continued: “Declaring a massive attack in Rafah, which has become a refuge for refugees, will make the displacement of the Palestinian nation even bloodier and threaten their almost destroyed livelihood, and this means ignoring the ruling of the International Court of Justice.”
The South African government on Tuesday sent an urgent request to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, asking to review the Zionist regime’s decision to expand the military operation in Rafah and prevent its implementation.