(IntegrityPress.org) – Israel has received calls to end the war in Gaza from the Director General of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who on Thursday May 2 expressed fears that an invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah would result in a “humanitarian crisis”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that no matter the outcome of the current attempt at a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, Israel will still invade Rafah in order to further its aim of destroying the terrorist group. Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007 and has built an extensive network of tunnels and bunkers underground, still maintains a significant presence in Rafah, in the south of Gaza. Israeli authorities say that their armed forces have destroyed 18 of Hamas’ 24 armed battalions, and that four of the remaining six are based in Rafah.
W.H.O.’s Tedros has put pressure on Israel not to invade Rafah, currently home to an estimated 1.5 million Gazans, many of whom have taken shelter there after being told to evacuate other cities before Israeli offensives. In a statement made on Tuesday, April 30, he said that he had met with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (U.N.R.W.A.) in order to discuss the “humanitarian situation” in Gaza.
The U.S., among other nations, has ceased funding for U.N.R.W.A. after Israel reported that several of its employees had not only supported Hamas, but had been actively involved in the October 7 massacre and kidnappings, and the controversial organization is currently under investigation by the U.N.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Hamas that it should accept Israel’s latest ceasefire and hostage return offer, calling it a generous offer, and saying that any failure to progress the deal would be down to Hamas. The deal would involve a 40-day ceasefire as well as the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
It has not been confirmed how many of the kidnapped Israelis would be returned, although some reports put the estimate as low as 33. Over 130 are still understood to be held hostage in Gaza, but Hamas refuse to confirm how many are alive or dead at this point. Tedros has also asked Hamas to release the hostages, a request which Hamas has not complied with.
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