World Humanitarian Agencies Raise Alarm over Israel's Plans for Ground Offensive in Rafah

Chief Executives of world humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations raised the alarm over Israel's plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza.

In a joint statement, they said: "We are appalled by the harrowing developments in Rafah, Gaza’s most populated area where 1.5 million people are sheltering as their last resort – over half a million of them children. If Israel launches its proposed ground offensive, thousands more civilians will be killed and the current trickle of humanitarian aid risks coming to a complete halt. If this military plan is not stopped immediately, the consequences will be catastrophic."

They affirmed that the Israeli government’s strategy of systematic and repeated forcible transfer of the civilian population has led to the forced displacement of more than three-quarters of the population, many of whom left without adequate shelter or homes to return to.