The Israeli military has launched a ground incursion into Rafah, southern Gaza, despite warnings from aid organisations that this would have “catastrophic consequences” for the 1.3 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in the area.1
Bob Kitchen, the International Rescue Committee’s vice president on emergencies, said on 8 May that dozens of civilians had already been killed in overnight attacks, while “hundreds of thousands more remain at grave risk from the threat of further conflict and a lack of access to life saving assistance.”2
Kitchen said it was “unconscionable to target such a densely populated area” and urged Israel to “halt further violence” and for “all parties to agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire.” He has also called on the international community to “wield all diplomatic influence at its disposal to bring the parties to an agreement and halt the humanitarian tragedy underway in Rafah.”
Last week the World Health Organization warned that a …