America and Europe jointly speak out against Israel's attack on Rafa

1.5 million Palestinian refugees are taking refuge in Rafa

The US draft text "determines that under current circumstances, a major ground assault on Rafah would further harm civilians and force them to flee, including potentially to neighboring countries".

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza would reach its peak if Israel attacked Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt that is home to 1.5 million Palestinian refugees. Photo: Reuters

Israel's plans to attack Rafah, where about 1.5 million of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians are crammed into shelters from the war's bombardment, have raised international concerns that such a move would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The US draft resolution says such a move "would have serious implications for regional peace and security, and therefore stresses that such a major ground offensive should not be undertaken under current circumstances".

It was not immediately clear when or if the draft resolution would be put to a vote by the 15-member council. To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members of the Security Council: the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China.

The US introduced its own text after Algeria on Saturday asked the council to vote on a draft resolution on Tuesday, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield quickly signaled that Algeria's draft resolution would be vetoed.

"Going against humanitarian law"

Meanwhile, all European Union countries except Hungary on Monday also warned Israel against carrying out an attack on Rafah that they said would worsen the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

“An attack on Rafah would be absolutely catastrophic… it would be unconscionable,” Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin told a meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Palestinian refugees scramble to buy bread in Rafah, southern Gaza. Photo: AP

After the talks ended, most of the leaders signed and issued a joint statement calling for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire leading to a lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance".

The statement was issued in the name of " foreign ministers of the 26 European Union member states" and diplomats said Hungary - a close ally of Israel - was the only country not to sign up.

“We urge the Israeli Government to refrain from military action in Rafah, which would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation and prevent the delivery of basic services and urgent humanitarian assistance,” the ministers said.

“We must continue to put pressure on Israel so that they understand that there are so many people on the streets of Rafah that civilian casualties will be unavoidable... This would certainly go against respect for humanitarian law,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called on Israel to respect humanitarian law, but said Israel had the “right to defend itself” as it was clear Hamas fighters were still operating in Rafah. “The most important thing is that Hamas lays down its weapons,” she said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has long called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, with UN aid chief Martin Griffith warning last week that military operations in Rafah “could lead to a massacre”.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/my-va-chau-au-cung-len-tieng-phan-doi-israel-tan-cong-rafa-canh-bao-tham-hoa-nhan-dao-post285046.html