NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, on Wednesday warned that should Israeli authorities follow through on their threat of a military incursion in Rafah, the risk of atrocities being committed in the territory was “serious, real and high.”
She expressed concern that a ground offensive in the city would “almost certainly have disastrous consequences for the civilians in the area, both those who live there and the more than a million internally displaced persons who have taken refuge in Rafah, fleeing the violence that has afflicted them in the rest of the Gaza Strip.”
Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city has become the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in the territory. But it has come under heavy fire from Israeli air strikes in recent days and at least 95 people have been killed, including 42 children, according to Amnesty International.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered his troops to prepare for a ground offensive in the city as he vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen he said were hiding there.
More than half of the Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people is now crammed into Rafah, which is close to the border with Egypt and was home to only 250,000 before the war began in October. Many of the displaced are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with little or no access to safe drinking water or food.
“It is imperative that the protection of civilians is prioritized and that international humanitarian law is respected at all times,” said Nderitu.
“Enough of violence and enough of the suffering of those who are most vulnerable, in Rafah and in the entire Gaza Strip.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, warned on Tuesday that an Israeli assault on Rafah could lead to the “slaughter” of Palestinians already suffering as a result of an “assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope.”
Nderitu also stressed the need to release “all hostages, unconditionally,” to ensure that deliveries of humanitarian aid are allowed to reach those who need them most, and for efforts to prevent further violence and reach a sustainable ceasefire to be stepped up.
“Since Oct. 7, civilians in the region have experienced and continue to experience an insurmountable level of suffering. This must end and must end now,” she said.
In a letter sent last week to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, leading Palestinian human rights groups accused Nderitu of failing to fulfill her mandate, after she issued only one statement about the war in Gaza, which they said was largely supportive of Israel.
They accused her of “dereliction of duty in failing to warn of a potential genocide” and said the “glaring absence of any action in response to the sustained mass atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza (raises) significant concerns about the special adviser’s capability to execute her mandate with due effectiveness and impartiality.”