German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has issued a warning to Israel against launching a military attack on the city of Rafah in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, according to the German news agency.
The Green Party politician, in statements made and published on Saturday, stated that “taking action now in Rafah, the most crowded and dense area, as announced by the Israeli Defense Minister, simply won’t be justified.”
Baerbock further emphasized that “the majority of the casualties are women and children. Let’s imagine they are our children.”
According to the Times of Israel newspaper, the Israeli army plans to expand its military operations against Hamas in the Rafah area.
Baerbock expressed her shock upon hearing about these plans, adding, “I have made it clear to the Israeli government for some time, in conjunction with our American partners, that the people of Gaza cannot simply disappear into thin air.”
It’s worth noting that over half of Gaza’s population, totaling 2.3 million people, are now homeless and crowded in Rafah. Tens of thousands have arrived in recent days, carrying their belongings and pushing children in carts, following one of the largest Israeli attacks last week to take control of Khan Yunis, the main city in the southern Gaza Strip, located directly north of Rafah.