• UN official, Martin Griffiths, warns of a ‘slaughter’ from an Israeli assault on Rafah.
• Griffiths stating the consequences would be catastrophic.
• Griffiths warns that over a million people are “crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face”.

A top UN official, Martin Griffiths, has issued a warning that an Israeli assault on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, might result in a ‘slaughter’. Griffiths emphasized that Palestinians in Gaza are already enduring an ‘assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality, and scope’.

The consequences of an invasion of Rafah would be “catastrophic”, he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to defeat Hamas gunmen whom he alleges are hiding in the city.

In an unusually forceful statement, Mr. Griffiths asserted that over a million people were “crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face”. He stated that civilians in the city had scant food or access to medicine and “nowhere safe to go”.

Additionally, he warned that an Israeli invasion of the city would “leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door”

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres informed the news that the UN had not received any Rafah evacuation plans from Israel and stated that they would not participate in any forced evacuation.

Stephane Dujarric said: “The United Nations will not be a party to any forced displacement of people.”

Rafah, a small city in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, experienced a population increase to an estimated 1.5 million after Israel ordered civilians to evacuate south before the war. Many live in tents in dire conditions and express having nowhere to go.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes targeted Rafah in recent days, resulting in at least 67 casualties on Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Additionally, Mr. Griffiths highlighted the challenges faced by humanitarian workers in Gaza, noting incidents of being shot at, held at gunpoint, attacked, and killed due to the breakdown in law and order.

Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza resumed in Cairo, with senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar meeting on Tuesday. Pressure mounted on Israel from the international community not to invade Rafah.

Mr Guterres said that he hoped the talks would be successful in avoiding an Israeli attack on the city.

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