Diplomatic Pressure Mounts on Israel over Rafah Assault Plans
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The leaders of France, Egypt, and Jordan have warned Israel about the potential peril of launching an assault on Rafah, emphasizing the imperative for an immediate ceasefire and the release of captives.
France's President Emmanuel Macron, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II collectively expressed their concerns, highlighting the grave ramifications an offensive on Rafah could entail. “Such an offensive will only bring more death and suffering, heighten the risks and consequences of mass forcible displacement of the people of Gaza. and threaten regional escalation,” they said in a joint editorial published in several newspapers.
"The war in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian suffering it is causing must end now," they emphasized, urging a substantial surge in humanitarian aid to be permitted into Gaza to alleviate the ongoing crisis.
Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, disclosed that plans were in motion for a ground incursion into the southern city of Rafah, which presently shelters 1.4 million displaced Palestinians. However, he refrained from specifying the exact timing of the operation.
Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan issued a joint plea, urging the international community to exert pressure on Israel to cease hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip. The statement emerged following talks between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Mecca.
Both nations advocated for the cessation of Israeli military activities in Gaza, adherence to international law, and the unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the territory. Additionally, they reiterated their support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
Despite mounting condemnation across the Muslim world due to six months of relentless bombardment and mass displacement resulting in over 33,000 Palestinian casualties, there seems to be no indication of the Israeli regime scaling back its offensive in Gaza.
Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement, declared on Monday that no imminent ceasefire agreement appears to be on the horizon, amid ongoing negotiations in Cairo.