Canada joins allies in warning Israel that ground offensive in Rafah would be 'catastrophic'
Leaders issue statement calling for immediate ceasefire, release of hostages in Gaza
As Israel threatens to launch a military ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, members of the international community — including Canada — are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider.
In a joint statement released Wednesday night, the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand said they are "gravely concerned" by indications that Israel is planning an offensive, saying it would be "catastrophic" if carried out.
"About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families," the statement said.
"We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go. There is growing international consensus. Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community."
More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its military incursion into Gaza in October 2023, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has faced criticism from human rights agencies for its offensive, as well as accusations of genocide.
Among the dead are dozens killed in Israel's special raid on Rafah on Monday. The raid — conducted under the cover of airstrikes — rescued two Israeli hostages, but local health officials say at least 67 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were wounded.
According to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides Palestinians with aid and essential services, nearly 1.5 million people currently reside in Rafah.
That's six times bigger than the city's population before Oct. 7, as more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city from the Israeli offensive that has laid waste to most of the Gaza Strip.
Those not jammed into overcrowded shelters are camping on the streets, on the beach and on the sandy strip of territory next to the border wall with Egypt — wherever they can find a spot to stay put.
"I'm very concerned about what's going on in Gaza, in particular in Rafah. The operation would be devastating and is devastating to Palestinians and all those seeking refuge," Mélanie Joly, Canada's foreign minister, told reporters on Monday.
"What the Netanyahu government is asking them to do, which is to leave again, is unacceptable. Because they have nowhere to go and so that's why we need right now for the violence to stop."
Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden told Netanyahu that Israel shouldn't launch a military operation into Rafah without a credible plan to ensure the safety of Palestinians sheltering there.
Israel's allies in Europe have also called on the country to hold off. Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot called it "unjustifiable," saying on Tuesday that it was "hard to see how large-scale operations in such a densely populated area would not lead to many civilian casualties and a bigger humanitarian catastrophe."
Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, echoed those comments.
"One point three million people are waiting there in a very small space," she said at a news conference in Jerusalem. "They don't really have anywhere else to go right now."
Despite the pleas, Netanyahu has consistently stressed that Israel cannot achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas without an invasion of Rafah, which he claims is the militant group's "last bastion." He reiterated his intent on Wednesday to press ahead with a ground invasion.
Israel claims its offensive into the Gaza Strip is justified due to the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Around 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Another 240 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
"We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action in Rafah as well, after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones," Netanyahu said on his Telegram account.
Immediate ceasefire 'urgently needed'
But Canada, Australia and New Zealand's joint statement says Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.
"An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed. Hostages must be released. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians," they said.
"The International Court of Justice has been clear: Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance and must protect civilians. The Court's decisions on provisional measures are binding."
Poor humanitarian conditions
Ayah Baloosha, 19, is one of those who was displaced to Rafah, along with her six siblings and her parents. She said the tents they're sleeping in are so weak that they can't protect people from the rain, let alone bombings.
"We are all suffering from diseases and the lack of health care," she said. "Also lack of medicines and in our hospitals. As a result, we are living in really bad humanitarian conditions."
UN officials say 90 per cent of the Gaza Strip's population is eating less than one meal a day, and a quarter of the population faces outright famine — mainly in the north, where Israeli restrictions have blocked many aid convoys.
Rafah is the key hub for aid entering Gaza. The supply chain for everything from canned food and flour to diapers comes almost entirely from the trickle of aid trucks that Israel allows into Gaza for distribution by the UN and other humanitarian groups.
Any truck that makes it past the protesters attempting to block them enters Rafah through Egypt or via a nearby Israeli crossing, for distribution across the Gaza Strip.
"Any large-scale military operation among this population can only lead to additional layers of endless tragedy," Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, told The Associated Press.
Evacuation would be 'catastrophic'
But as more people flee to Rafah, the conditions there become less and less livable. One doctor who recently left Gaza described Rafah as a "closed jail," with fecal matter running through streets so crowded that there is barely space for medics' vehicles to pass.
Aid workers are also struggling to supply even basic aid and stop the spread of disease. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called it a "gigantic refugee camp."
"Imagine as adults, we don't have the mental stability to deal with the situation around us, so imagine how is going to be a situation for our children. They are paying the highest price, unfortunately," NRC advocacy officer Yousef Hammash, who's in Rafah, told The Current on Tuesday.
Netanyahu's office says it has ordered the army to develop a plan to evacuate civilians out of Rafah. Some Palestinians believe Israel is trying to push them into Egypt permanently.
That would be against Egypt's wishes, though. Egypt has said it won't allow an exodus of Palestinian refugees to cross into its territory
Andrea De Domenico, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, says a mass evacuation of Rafah would be "simply catastrophic."
"The humanitarian community is not ready to support yet another movement — not for 1.5 million people. We do not have enough humanitarian assistance in place, in stock," he told CBC's Power & Politics.
With the rest of Gaza destroyed and the border to Egypt closed, some Palestinians have accepted that they will die in Rafah.
"Israel can do whatever it wants. I'm sitting in my tent. I'll die in my tent," said Jihan al-Hawajri, who currently lives in a tent with 30 relatives.
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With files from Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC's The Current