UN official warns: Israeli invasion of Rafah will be “a tragedy beyond words”

WORLD, May 01 (YPA) – An Israeli invasion of the southern blockaded Gaza Strip city of Rafah will be “a tragedy beyond words”, the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that. The rest is detail”, Griffiths stated.

He added: “The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch an offensive on Rafah, which has become a refuge to some 1.5 million Palestinians.

E.M