Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza Must Not Be Allowed: WHO

On Saturday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday called on Israel to halt its ground assault on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, saying 1.2 million people there have nowhere safe to go.

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“I'm gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering, especially with health facilities already overwhelmed,” he wrote on X.

“The 1.2 million people in Rafah do not have anywhere safe to move to. There are no fully functional, safe health facilities that they can reach elsewhere in Gaza. Many people are too fragile, hungry, and sick to be moved again.”

“In the name of humanity, we appeal to Israel not to proceed and instead to work towards peace. This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen,” the WHO director warned.

The text reads, "A 10-year-old Palestinian boy cries in pain, with his hands amputated without anesthesia and his face completely burned as a result of an Israeli airstrike last night on the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip."

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for an attack on Rafah. Later, before a meeting with his war cabinet on Sunday, he pointed out that growing international pressures will not force him to stop attacks on Gaza or call elections.

"There are those in the international community who are trying to stop the war now, before all its objectives are achieved," he said, adding that stopping the offensive on Gaza would be tantamount to losing the war.

Netanyahu reiterated that his three goals are to eliminate Hamas, free the hostages, and ensure that Gaza "no longer represents a threat to Israel," which involves invading Rafah.