Israel’s possible military operation in Rafah ‘completely catastrophic’: UN envoy

WASHINGTON (AA) – UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process warned Wednesday about a “completely catastrophic” potential Israeli military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

“We know very well. The Israelis know, even better, but still planning that having a very active warfare in the area of Rafah, with more than 1.2 million people assembled … will be completely catastrophic,” Tor Wennesland said at a news conference in New York.

His remarks came after Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that the army’s next target in Gaza will be Rafah, claiming it is the last remaining stronghold of Hamas.

It is impossible for the UN system to deliver aid “sufficiently and most effectively” on the ground as the hostilities are ongoing, he said.

Commending efforts by Egypt and Qatar, he said it would take “some very hard” diplomatic work to get a cease-fire.

“It’s hard to find words on what to say to the people in Gaza as they’ve lost everything and they’ve been exposed to a massive destruction.

He stressed that the humanitarian system is not designed and set up to carry the delivery of all goods into Gaza for 2.2 million people.

After a cease-fire is reached, it will take one year “optimistically” to clean Gaza, he said.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 and has killed at least 27,708 Palestinians and injured 67,174 others. The Hamas attack killed 1,140 Israelis.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.