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Israel-Hamas war: Former ambassador warns of imminent humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Discussing Israel’s recent operations in Rafah and its seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Anil Trigunayat, a former Ambassador, highlighted significant implications. He emphasised that such actions would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation for the approximately 1.4 million people in Rafah.
Israel has confirmed that it has taken control of the Palestinian side of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt. This is the only Gaza border crossing that was not controlled by Israel and has served as the entry point for much of the limited humanitarian aid that has entered Gaza.
Egypt has condemned Israel’s move, calling it a “dangerous escalation.” The country’s military also called on the Israeli side to “stay away” from policies that would threaten a potential truce.
Meanwhile, truce talks are to resume in Cairo after Israel said the terms that Hamas had agreed to were unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it as “far from Israel’s basic requirements.”
Discussing Israel’s recent operations in Rafah and its seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Anil Trigunayat, a former ambassador, highlighted significant implications. He emphasised that such actions would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation for the approximately 1.4 million people in Rafah.
“Almost 1.4 million people are there in Rafah at the moment, who have been just pushed around that. So they will be suffering a great deal and as has been feared by everyone, including the United States, which have tried to dissuade Netanyahu from going further ahead into Rafah.”
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Trigunayat also pointed out the potential strain on the Egypt-Israel peace treaty since 1979, as Egypt has historically limited Palestinian refugees’ entry to avoid the escalation of conflict with Israel.
“Egypt has not allowed a lot of Palestinian refugees to come into its side. Because if any attack they did against Israel, Israel will counter attack and then there will be a possibility of a bigger war between Israel and Egypt, which is what they have been trying to avoid, but it looks like that this is very imminent now,” he said.
Despite frantic efforts by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to negotiate terms, tensions remain high. Trigunayat expressed doubts in relation to Israel’s objectives in Rafah, noting the risk of a disastrous outcome.
Trigunayat added, “If you remember that Netanyahu has said that deal or no deal, we will go into Rafah. Now, because their main objective is somehow they feel that battalions of the Hamas leadership are there and they expect that there are probably remaining hostages in Rafah. They just want to secure them, and I doubt very much that they will be successful in it. But at the same time, there is going to be a disastrous consequence of this.”
He warned of a continued humanitarian catastrophe due to the disruption of aid routes, particularly through Rafah. Additionally, he questioned whether the US has sufficient leverage to influence Israel’s actions.
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