Egyptian president, UN chief raise alarm about humanitarian crisis in Rafah amid Israeli military operation

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

CAITO (AA) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and UN chief António Guterres cautioned Thursday about the' catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah.'

Both sides “reviewed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip across all levels, including Egypt’s unyielding and persistent efforts to reach a ceasefire and a truce agreement,” the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement about a telephone call between the two leaders.

They also discussed “the immediate and full access for humanitarian relief and aid to all parts of the sector in a sustainable and unfettered manner,” it said.

Al-Sisi and Guterres warned against the “catastrophic consequences of the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which pose a serious impediment to the regular evacuation of the wounded and sick for treatment, and the entry of humanitarian aid and relief into the sector.”

Earlier, Egyptian media cited a high-level unnamed Egyptian source who said Israel and Hamas delegations left Cairo, without mentioning a new date for further talks.

Hamas said Monday it had accepted a Gaza cease-fire proposal drawn by Egypt and Qatar.

But Israel said the offer accepted by Hamas did not meet its key demands and decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah to apply "military pressure on Hamas with the goal of making progress on freeing the hostages and the other war aims.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,500 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul