WHO chief urges the Israeli occupation not to go ahead with its planned ground attack on Rafah

Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged the Israeli occupation not to go ahead with a planned large-scale aggression against Rafah city, south of Gaza, where most of Gaza’s displaced population are sheltering.

“I’m gravely concerned about reports of an Israeli plan to proceed with a ground assault on Rafah,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on his account on X.

“Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering,” he added , pointing out that the 1.2 million people in Rafah do not have anywhere safe to move to”.

“There are no fully functional, safe health facilities that they can reach elsewhere in Gaza,” he said. “Many people are too fragile, hungry and sick to be moved again and this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen,” he stressed.

The United Nations has also repeatedly warned against such a military offensive, which is likely going to lead to yet another tragic bloodbath in the ongoing Israeli genocidal aggression on Gaza.

Hamda Mustafa