Egyptian FM Stresses Cairo’s Objection to Any Possible Israeli Incursion Into Rafah
(AWP) - On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed his country’s rejection of any possible Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
“Egypt is not the only country that rejects such a possibility. There are also the six European Union participants in yesterday’s [Egyptian – European] summit, and the United States of America,” Shoukry said during a joint press conference, held in Cairo with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazarini.
“There is a general consensus within the international community that it is unacceptable to have any military activity directed towards Rafah in light of the current situation, with the presence of 1.4 million Palestinian civilians in a very small area. This would lead to humanitarian consequences and loss of life—a catastrophic situation, in addition to the 30,000 victims who have already lost their lives,” he added.
On Sunday evening, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said that he had agreed with leaders of the European Union during a summit in Cairo to object to any possible Israeli military operation in Rafah.
Al-Sisi affirmed the “imperative of an immediate ceasefire, and an end to Israel’s hostilities” in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA’S Commissioner-General warned of an imminent famine in Gaza amid the scarcity of aid entering the Strip, as the Israeli war continues for the sixth consecutive month.
“We were also talking this morning about the looming famine in the Gaza Strip. Over the past two months, there have been warnings indicating that hunger is spreading in the Gaza Strip,” Lazarini said during the press conference.
“This is entirely man-made. It is hitting an area that has never experienced hunger in the past. Today, no one in the Gaza Strip has escaped this hunger,” he added.
A recent statement issued by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed that 31% of children under the age of two in the northern Gaza Strip suffer from acute malnutrition, up from 15.6% in January.