EU’s top diplomat blasts Israeli evacuation orders for Rafah

Edited by Ed Newman
2024-05-11 22:24:07

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Brussels, May 12 (RHC)-- European Union diplomat Josep Borrell has strongly criticized Israel’s latest evacuation orders for Rafah, saying forcing civilians to evacuate “to unsafe zones is intolerable.”  He again urged Israel not to go ahead with a ground assault on the southern city, saying the move would “further exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation.”

Earlier, President of the European Council Charles Michel called the expanded evacuation orders “unacceptable,” while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said a ground attack on Rafah would lead “to incredible loss of human life of innocent civilians.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Gaza Civil Defence has told Al Jazeera that all hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service.  "We’ve been reporting on overnight Israeli bombardment on Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp, which are both in the northern areas of the besieged enclave."

The hospital closures come after the UN warned hospitals across the Gaza Strip were at risk of running out of fuel.  No aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since Sunday, May 5th -- one week ago -- according to the UN, with Israel blocking the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza.

The Wafa news agency is reporting heavy Israeli bombardment in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.  Citing local sources, Wafa said that “Israeli fighter jets carpet-bombed” eastern areas of Jabalia, killing several people.  The agency said the exact number of casualties was not immediately clear.

Wafa also said that Israeli quadcopter drones opened fire on ambulances near a UNRWA clinic in the centre of Jabalia.  The attacks come as the Israeli army renewed its assault on northern Gaza after previously saying it had defeated Hamas in the area.

Earlier, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic captured Israeli bombardment in Jabalia, which turned the area into what the correspondent Anas al-Sharif described as a “fire belt”.  The attacks also destroyed al-Sharif’s home.




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