Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 19
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that an Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be “intolerable”
“I receive you Mr. President in a moment of great concern. I made today a very strong appeal to the government of Israel and to the leadership of Hamas in order to go an extra mile to materialize an agreement that is absolutely vital,” Guterres said ahead of his meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at UN headquarters in New York.
“This is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and a ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences and because of its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres added.
The Palestinian group Hamas said Monday evening that it had accepted a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Israel said late Monday, however, that the truce offer accepted by Hamas does not meet its key demands.
Israel’s war cabinet also decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah “in order to apply military pressure on Hamas with the goal of making progress on freeing the hostages and the other war aims.”
Source: Anadolu Agency