Israeli attack on Rafah could lead to humanitarian disaster: Greek premier

ATHENS

Greece’s prime minister warned Thursday that an attack by Israel on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah could lead to a major humanitarian disaster.

Speaking in Brussels, where the leaders of European Union countries had gathered to discuss current issues, especially the situation in Ukraine and Gaza, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "as Europe, I want and believe that we can reach a conclusion that will dissuade Israel from attacking Rafah. Such an attack can definitely lead to a much greater humanitarian disaster."

Turning to defense issues, Mitsotakis said Greece has been allocating more than 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending for decades.

"Unfortunately, this is not done in other European countries. If Europe wants to be armored in terms of defense, it should explore new ways to finance defense expenditures," he said.

Saying that the EU can finance defense expenditures through Eurobonds, Mitsotakis emphasized that the EU must ensure the security of all its citizens.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 74,200 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war, now in its 167th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.