By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - Israel's evacuation order and threatened military operation in Rafah, a southern Gaza Strip city packed with 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, has been met with a chorus of criticism from across Europe.
Early Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell voiced his concern over the situation in Rafah, saying the Israeli military offensive will again cause a great many civilian casualties.
"The Rafah offensive has started again, in spite of all the requests of the international community, the US, the European Union member states, everybody asking (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu not to attack," he said in Brussels.
Borrell on Monday called on the international community to prevent Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah, calling evacuation orders to civilians there "unacceptable."
"Israel's evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable," he added.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic also called the months-long suffering of civilians in besieged Gaza "unbearable."
"Israel’s ground operation in Rafah would only make it worse," he said.
Separately, speaking to reporters after a meeting in Paris with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission president, said, “We discussed the situation in the Middle East, which is of great concern to both of us.”
"No effort can be spared in de-escalating tensions and preventing a wider conflict in the region," she said.
- 'International community cannot stand passively'
Reacting to developments, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said an offensive on Rafah would worsen the suffering "already endured by the Palestinian people."
"The international community cannot stand passively in the face of this tragedy," he wrote on X.
Germany also once again called on Israel to refrain from a large-scale ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
"The Federal Government and the Foreign Minister have already said repeatedly in the past that a large-scale ground offensive on Rafah would be a humanitarian catastrophe, and indeed a humanitarian catastrophe with consequences,” deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kathrin Deschauer told reporters in Berlin on Monday.
Belgium on Monday warned that Israel's Rafah evacuation order and invasion would lead to a "massacre," adding that it is preparing more sanctions against Tel Aviv.
"The Israeli call for the evacuation of the citizens and refugees of Rafah, and the announced invasion, will lead to massacre," Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said on X. "Belgium is working on further sanctions against (Israel)."
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Monday called on Israel to refrain from a military invasion of Rafah, warning that such action would be a tragedy for displaced Palestinians.
“Israel must refrain from further plans to enter Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge,” Eide said in a statement.
He added: "Gaza is a man-made disaster. Words cannot describe the suffering and hardship its 2.3 million inhabitants have endured over the past seven months."
- 'It must not happen'
France also voiced "firm opposition" to any Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city, warning that any forced displacement of civilians under Israel’s relocation order would constitute a "war crime.”
"France reiterates its firm opposition to an Israeli offensive on Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people are taking refuge in a situation of great distress," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed "deep concern" over a Rafah military incursion, saying: "I have been very consistent that we are concerned, deeply concerned, about the prospect of a military incursion into Rafah, given the number of civilians sheltering there and the importance of that crossing for aid.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Monday said: "An Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would have devastating consequences and must not happen."
Also, along with UN agencies, many NGOs based in European countries also voiced their deep concern over the situation, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
On Monday, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, a move widely seen as a prelude to Israel's long-feared attack on the city, home to some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.
Nearly 34,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Israel also stands accused of genocide in an ongoing case 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.