An Israeli invasion of Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands in Gaza at risk and would be a serious blow to aid operations throughout the Palestinian territory.
The statement, made this Friday (3), is from the UN humanitarian office, while the World Health Organization announced contingency plans for an incursion.
Israel has repeatedly warned of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where around a million people are taking refuge, having fled months of bombardment.
“It could be a massacre of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation across the Strip, because [a operação] it is mainly directed from Rafah,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), at a press conference in Geneva.
Israel has said it will work to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from Rafah.
Aid operations in Rafah include medical clinics, warehouses stocked with humanitarian supplies, food distribution points and 50 centers for severely malnourished children, Laerke said.
OCHA will do everything possible to ensure the continuation of aid operations, even in the event of an incursion, and is studying how to do this, he added.
A World Health Organization official said at the same briefing that a contingency plan had been prepared for Rafah, which included a new field hospital, but said it would not be enough to prevent a substantial increase in the death toll.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in almost seven months of conflict, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
“I really want to say that this contingency plan is a band-aid,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, via video conference.
“This will in no way prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity caused by a military operation.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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