‘DISASTER’

Israel Moves to Launch Assault on City Packed With Refugees

Israel’s decision to invade Rafah has been criticized by a top U.N. official, who said the move would “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to come up with a plan to evacuate millions of Palestinian civilians from Rafah, according to POLITICO. The clearing out of the city near Gaza's southern border would allow troops to pursue the Hamas battalions Netanyahu says still reside there. The decision to invade Rafah has been criticized by both U.S. and top United Nations officials. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that a military operation in Rafah would be a “disaster,” and that the U.S. government would not support it. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the move. A military operation in Rafah would “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences,” said Guterres. On Thursday, Guterres said that half of Gaza’s population “is now crammed into Rafah with nowhere to go.” The people in Rafah “have no homes” and “no hope,” he said. Nearly 28,000 Palestinians have already been killed in Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza, and nearly two million people have been displaced.

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Edith OlmstedBreaking News Intern

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