Keir Starmer warns Israel's plan to invade Rafah would be 'catastrophic'
An expected Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be “catastrophic” for civilians, Keir Starmer has warned.
Despite growing alarm among aid agencies and the international community, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said sending troops into the area is necessary to eliminate Hamas. Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt, is one of the only regions not yet targeted by Israel’s ground offensive. It is providing refuge to more than half of Gaza's 2.3million population who have fled fighting elsewhere.
But according to Israel, it is the last remaining stronghold for Hamas fighters in Gaza, after more than four months of conflict triggered by the militant group's deadly October 7.
The Labour leader tweeted: "There are over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Rafah and it is the gateway to aid for Gaza - an Israeli offensive there would be catastrophic. The fighting must stop now. We need a sustainable ceasefire."
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron also raised concerns, posting: "Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah - over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area. The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire."
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Tensions have risen between Mr Netanyahu and the US, which has warned Israeli forces that a ground offensive in the densely populated border town would be a "disaster", while the EU and the UN have also raised concerns.
Joe Biden on Sunday told Mr Netanyahu in a telephone call not to go ahead with his plan unless he could protect the lives of civilians. In a statement, the White House said the US President "reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there".
A military operation in Rafah could force the closure of its crossing, cutting off the delivery of desperately needed food and medical supplies and exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in the besieged territory.
The latest figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry put the overall Palestinian death toll at more than 28,100. Mr Netanyahu announced on Friday that he had asked the military to prepare to enter Rafah and evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. It has raised questions over where civilians could be moved to, with Israeli evacuation orders now covering two-thirds of the territory.
The Israeli PM's pledge to enter Rafah came as he also rejected Hamas's ceasefire proposals.
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