Gaza
\nInternational concerns are growing as Israel\u2019s ground invasion of Rafah is looming large, with world leaders expressing grave concerns over the military operation against the densely populated area in the far south of Gaza.
\nScores of people, including children, were killed on Monday as extremely intense Israeli airstrikes and shelling pounded locations in Rafah, where a million Palestinian refugees have more than doubled the local population after being driven from the rest of the besieged territory by Israel\u2019s military offensive.
\nThe International Criminal Court\u2019s chief prosecutor Karim Khan said in a social media post on Monday that he was \u201cdeeply concerned by the reported bombardment and potential ground incursion by Israeli forces in Rafah.\u201d
\nKhan warned that Israeli is on notice for Rafah strikes and that his office is \u201cactively investigating any crimes allegedly committed\u201d in the war and those \u201cin breach of the law will be held accountable.\u201d
\n\u201cAll wars have rules and the laws applicable to armed conflict cannot be interpreted so as to render them hollow or devoid of meaning,\u201d he wrote.
\nThe ICC chief criticized Israel for not changing its conduct in Gaza, warning that \u201cthose who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my office takes action pursuant to its mandate.\u201d
\nVolker T\u00fcrk, the UN human rights chief in remarks made in Geneva on Monday said such an operation in Rafah \u201crisks further atrocity crimes\u201d and urged the world \u201cnot allow this to happen.\u201d
\n\u201cThose with influence must restrain rather than enable. There must be an immediate ceasefire,\u201d he said.
\nUnited Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths together with T\u00fcrk called on Israel to abort its \u201cterrifying\u201d planned incursion into Rafah. They warned that such an operation would likely result in scores of civilian casualties.
\nOn Monday, M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) also warned that \u201cIsrael\u2019s declared ground offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic and must not proceed.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly expressed concern over the \u201cdevastating\u201d consequences of such an offensive, calling on the Israeli regime to refrain from launching the ground invasion as the Palestinians there have nowhere else to seek refuge.
\n\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about what\u2019s going on in Gaza, in particular in Rafah. The operation would be devastating and is devastating to Palestinians and all those seeking refuge,\u201d Joly told reporters.
\n\u201cWhat [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu \u2026 is asking them to do, which is to leave again, is unacceptable. Because they have nowhere to go and so that\u2019s why we need right now for the violence to stop,\u201d she said, reiterating Canadian calls for a sustainable ceasefire.
\nCaroline Gennez, the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy, also said ahead of an EU informal meeting of development ministers in Brussels the situation in Rafah is \u201cvery, very dangerous\u201d and called on continued support for the million Gazans stuck at the border area.
\n\u201cWe live in the most dire humanitarian crisis in ages, 1.2 million people are stuck at the border with Rafah. The situation is very, very dangerous,\u201d she said.
\nRafah has come to host more than 1.4 million Palestinians, who have fled there from the ravages of the Israeli military onslaught in other parts of Gaza.
\nOn Friday, Netanyahu called for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned ground operation against the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza International concerns are growing as Israel\u2019s ground invasion of Rafah is looming large, with world leaders expressing grave concerns over the military operation against the densely populated area in the far south of Gaza. Scores of people, including children, were killed on Monday as extremely intense Israeli airstrikes and shelling pounded locations in Rafah, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-387003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n