Amid the unimaginable suffering faced by Palestinians in Gaza, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday called for restraint in light of the Israeli military incursion into the city of Rafah. Warning of the risk of further atrocity crimes committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza war, the UN rights chief also urged Israel to comply with legally binding orders from the International Court of Justice and to respect the full range of international humanitarian law.
"A potential full-fledged military incursion into Rafah – where some 1.5 million Palestinians are packed against the Egyptian border with nowhere further to flee – is terrifying, given the prospect that an extremely high number of civilians, again mostly children and women, will likely be killed and injured," Türk said in a statement.
Since October 7 last year, more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 68,000 wounded in Israel’s war against the tiny territory. Across Gaza, people displaced by the ongoing Israeli attacks are facing acute shortages of shelter, clean water, food and medicine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that military strikes in Rafah have heightened concerns of an escalation in Gaza’s southernmost city. Of the 1.7 million people displaced in Gaza, nearly 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah governorate, where humanitarian operations are now based. OCHA warned that growing insecurity in Rafah is greatly impacting humanitarian response activities.
“Beyond the pain and suffering of the bombs and bullets, this incursion into Rafah may also mean the end of the meager humanitarian aid that has been entering and distributed with huge implications for all of Gaza, including the hundreds of thousands at grave risk of starvation and famine in the north,” the High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has repeatedly warned Israel and Palestinian armed groups against actions that violate the laws of war.
“The prospect of such an operation into Rafah, as circumstances stand, risks further atrocity crimes,” Türk noted, stressing that “the world must not allow this to happen”.
“Israel must comply with the legally binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice, and with the full span of international humanitarian law. Those who defy international law have been put on notice. Accountability must follow,” he urged.
In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26 confirmed that Palestinians have a right to be protected from acts of genocide, ordering Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent actions that amount to genocide.
Among provisional measures, the Court also ordered Israel to allow the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the war-shattered enclave and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services to Palestinians there.
Meanwhile, ground operations and heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continue to be reported, particularly in Rafah and Khan Younis. In Khan Younis, intense fighting continues to jeopardize the safety of medical staff, the wounded and the sick, as well as internally displaced people, OCHA warned Monday.
Also Monday, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) warned that an Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic and called for Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gazan city.
"As aerial bombardment of the area continues, more than a million people, many living in tents and makeshift shelters, now face a dramatic escalation in this ongoing massacre," said Meinie Nicolai, MSF Director General, in a statement.
“Nowhere in Gaza is safe, and repeated forced displacements have pushed people to Rafah, where they are trapped in a tiny patch of land and have no options,” she added.
MSF reported that since October 2023 its medical teams and patients had been forced to evacuate nine different health care facilities in the Gaza Strip, after coming under fire from tanks, artillery, fighter jets, snipers and ground troops, or being subject to an evacuation order. Medical staff and patients had also been arrested, abused and killed, the non-governmental organization said.
“All of this has taken place in full view of world leaders. It has now become near impossible to work in Gaza, all our attempts to provide lifesaving care to Palestinians have been diminished by Israel's conduct of hostilities,” Nicolai said.
Médecins Sans Frontières warned that the needs in Gaza were overwhelming, and the situation required a safe humanitarian response at a much larger scale.
“We call on the government of Israel to immediately halt this offensive, and to all supporting governments including the United States, to take concrete action to bring about a complete and sustained ceasefire. Political rhetoric is not enough,” the MSF Director General said.
Further information
Full text: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Israeli operation into Rafah, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), statement, published February 12, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/02/un-high-commissioner-human-rights-volker-turk-israeli-operation
Full text: Ground offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic and must not proceed, MSF press release, published February 12, 2024
https://www.msf.org/gaza-ground-offensive-rafah-would-be-catastrophic-and-must-not-proceed