British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Saturday he is “deeply concerned” by the prospect of an Israeli military offensive in Rafah, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned it would amount to a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area,” Cameron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire,” he wrote.
In a separate statement on X, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that an Israeli offensive in Rafah would lead to an “unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.”
“I echo the warning by several EU member states that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would lead to an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe and grave tensions with Egypt. Resuming negotiations to free hostages and suspend hostilities is the only way to avert a bloodshed,” Borrell wrote.
Ahead of a looming ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city, many of whom have already been displaced from other parts of the enclave.
