The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, Martin Griffiths, warned on 15 February that Palestinians crowded into Rafah could be transferred to Egypt if Israel launched a military operation against the border city.
“The possibility of a military operation in Rafah, with the possibility of the (border) crossing closing down, with the possibility of spillover… a sort of Egyptian nightmare …is one that is right before our eyes.”
Over a million Palestinians gathered in Rafah on the Gaza’s border with Egypt. The Israeli military claims it wants to drive Islamist militants out of hideouts in Rafah and free hostages held there since Hamas violence in Israel on 7 October, but has provided no details of a proposed plan to evacuate civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no indication as to when the offensive might take place. Griffiths noted that the idea that Gazans could evacuate to a safe place was an “illusion.”
We must all hope that friends of Israel and those who care about Israel’s security give them good counsel at this moment.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated Thursday that the cash shortfall it would face next month would get much worse in April unless it could secure new funding or persuade donors to resume suspended contributions.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini was speaking in Dublin, where Ireland announced 20 million euros in support of the agency and called on countries that had suspended funding to “urgently rescind that decision” and expand their support.
“Our operation will start to be compromised as from March but April will be really the month where we will be under deep, deep, deep negative cashflow.”
Lazzarini has held extensive consultations with donors in recent days, including a trip to the Gulf states and Brussels, to try to fill UNRWA’s funding gap of about $440 million.
However, some UNRWA donors, such as the US and the UK, indicated they would not resume support until the UN’s internal investigation into the allegations was completed. A preliminary report is due to be published in the next few weeks. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin stated:
At such a dangerous moment, it would be inconceivable to let UNRWA collapse. People need to wake up internationally about this.
