UN aid chief warns of possible spillover of Gazans into Egypt
The United Nations aid chief warned on Thursday (15 February) of the possibility of a spillover of Palestinians amassed in Rafah into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation against the border town.
More than one million Palestinians are crammed into Rafah at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. Many are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in Gaza.
The Israeli military says it wants to flush out Islamist militants from hideouts in Rafah and free hostages being held there after the Hamas rampage in Israel on 7 October, but has given no details of a proposed plan to evacuate civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces growing international pressure to hold off on the planned assault, has given no indication as to when the offensive might take place.
“The possibility of a military operation in Rafah, with the possibility of the (border) crossing closing down, with the possibility of spillover… a sort of Egyptian nightmare …is one that is right before our eyes,” Martin Griffiths told diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva.
He said the notion that the people of Gaza could evacuate to a safe place was an “illusion”.
“We must all hope that friends of Israel and those who care about Israel’s security give them good counsel at this moment,” Griffiths said.
The United Nations has said an Israeli offensive on Rafah could “lead to a slaughter”.
Speaking at the same meeting as Griffiths, Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the absence of a clear evacuation plan, including for the sick and elderly, would bring suffering to a new level.
“The suffering on both sides, the carnage we have seen since the 7th of October will reach unimaginable depths if operations on Rafah are intensified the way they have been announced,” Spoljaric said.
Cash crunch
The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Thursday that the cash crunch it is facing next month will get far worse in April if it cannot secure fresh funding or convince donors to resume suspended contributions.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini was speaking in Dublin, where Ireland announced 20 million euros in support for the agency and urged countries that have suspended funding to “urgently rescind that decision” and resume and expand their support.
UNRWA, which provides healthcare, education and other services, has been pitched into crisis since Israel alleged that 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel that precipitated the Israel-Hamas war.
“Our operation will start to be compromised as from March but April will be really the month where we will be under deep, deep, deep negative cashflow,” Lazzarini told a news conference, describing the agency as being under an “existential threat”.
Negative cashflow is when an organisation has more money outgoing than incoming, impacting its ability to sustain itself.
Lazzarini has held extensive consultations with donors, including a trip to Gulf countries and Brussels, in recent days to try to plug UNRWA’s funding shortfall of some $440 million.
Some UNRWA donors, such as the United States and Britain, have indicated they will not resume support until the UN’s internal investigation into the allegations ends. A preliminary report is due to be published in the next several weeks.
Lazzarini said the UN would share some observations with member states on its investigation within four weeks.
“At such a dangerous moment, it would be inconceivable to let UNRWA collapse,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin told a news conference.
“People need to wake up internationally about this.”
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