Concerns increase as Israel prepares Rafah offensive

Israel is getting more and more warnings from other countries about its upcoming attack in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that is full of Palestinian refugees.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that more than half of the people in Gaza are seeking shelter in the area. Dutch FM Hanke Bruins Slot said that there might be many innocent people who are hurt.

Saudi Arabia said that there will be a big problem if Rafah is attacked.

Hamas leaders in Gaza said that there could be a very large number of people hurt or killed.

Israel started its military actions in the Gaza Strip because over 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel by Hamas gunmen on 7 October.

More than 27,900 people have died and at least 67,000 people have been hurt in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.

Many people from Gaza have had to leave their homes and end up in Rafah at least once.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the military to get ready to move people out of the city before attacking Hamas.

“We can’t reach our war goal if we don’t get rid of Hamas. Also, leaving four Hamas groups in Rafah won’t help. ” The people in charge said that there is a lot of fighting in Rafah and civilians need to leave the area.

The prime minister said no to Hamas’s latest offer for a ceasefire.

The US told Israel that attacking Rafah in Gaza would be very bad, and the EU and the UN are also worried about it.

Charity organizations say that it is not possible to rescue or remove all the people from the city that is near the border of Egypt.

Jamie McGoldrick, a person from the UN, recently went to Gaza to see how things are. He said to the BBC that if Israeli soldiers attack, the people in Rafah don’t have anywhere to go.

“The places that were said to be safe are not safe anymore. ” “If these people have to go somewhere else, where can they go. We are really scared that our situation will only get worse,” he said.

Around 15 million Palestinians are in Rafah to hide from the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. Most of them are living in temporary shelter.

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In a message on social media, Mr Cameron said he was really worried about the possibility of a military attack in Rafah.

“We need to stop fighting right away to help the people in need and to rescue the hostages. Then we can work on having a lasting ceasefire. ”

Meanwhile, Bruins Slot said the situation in Rafah is very concerning.

“Many people in Gaza have left and gone to the south. ” It’s difficult to imagine that big military actions in a crowded area wouldn’t cause a lot of civilian deaths and a worse humanitarian crisis. “This is not fair,” she said.

On Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry said not to attack Rafah in Gaza. Many people had to leave because of the violence from Israel.

The ministry asked for a stop in fighting right away.

The news cannot check a lot of the things that are said about the fighting in the war.