Germany warns Israel against major offensive against Rafah

BERLIN

Germany warned Israel on Tuesday against a major ground offensive on the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pointed out that nearly 1 million displaced Palestinians, who have taken shelter in Rafah, have nowhere to go.

“I warn against a major offensive on Rafah. A million people cannot disappear into thin air. They need protection. They urgently need continued humanitarian assistance,” she wrote on X.

“To achieve this, the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings must be reopened immediately,” added Baerbock.

Despite an announcement Monday by Hamas that it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, the Israeli government said it has decided to push ahead with an offensive in Rafah.

The Israeli army said early Tuesday that the 401st armored brigade seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip.

Army footage showed Israeli tanks rolling through the area and the Israeli flag raised on the Gaza side.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 78,000 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.