Saudi Arabia warns of disaster if Israel attacks Rafah

Saudi Arabia says Israel's attack on Rafah would cause a humanitarian disaster and calls on the UN Security Council to intervene.

The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on February 10 warning of “extremely dangerous consequences” if Israel attacks and targets Rafah, a city in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia also affirmed that it “strongly rejects and condemns” the act of forcing civilians to leave Rafah.

"The continued violations of international law and international humanitarian law demonstrate the urgency of convening an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to prevent Israel from causing a humanitarian catastrophe," the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 9 ordered the military to prepare to evacuate civilians from Rafah in preparation for a ground operation against Hamas forces in the city.

People in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on February 9. Photo: AFP

Rafah is home to about 1.5 million Palestinians who fled other parts of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas warned that Israel’s offensive on Rafah could cause tens of thousands of casualties in the city. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’s office called the move a threat to security and peace in the region and the world, and an act that crossed all red lines.

Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to an October 2023 offensive aimed at “eradicating” Hamas. The strip’s health authorities said at least 27,947 people were killed, mostly women and children.

Location of Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip. Graphics: BBC

Ngoc Anh (According to AFP )

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