International community 'must act' to prevent Israel's ground offensive in Rafah: EU's Borrell

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The EU foreign policy chief on Monday called on the international community to prevent Israel’s planned ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, saying evacuation orders to civilians are "unacceptable."

"Israel's evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable. Israel must renounce to a ground offensive and implement UNSCR (UN Security Council resolution) 2728," Josep Borrell wrote on X.

He said that the EU, with the international community "can and must act" to prevent such a scenario.

Israel has reportedly begun evacuating some neighborhoods in Rafah despite opposition from the international community.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians, who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Since then, the Israeli onslaught has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly 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 stands 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 there.