GAZA, Monday, May 6, 2024 (WAFA) – European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell considered today the Israeli occupation forces' call on Palestinian civilians to evacuate east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion as "unacceptable."

“Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable. Israel must renounce to a ground offensive,” Borrell wrote on X platform.

“The EU, with the international community, can and must act to prevent such scenario,” he says.

The city of Rafah is the last refuge for the displaced in the afflicted Strip. Since the beginning of the ground operation launched by the occupation forces on the Gaza Strip on the 27th of last October, civilians have been asked ordred to go from the north and center of the Strip to the south, claiming that they are “safe areas.”

Meanwhile, Rafah, despite its small area estimated at about 65 square kilometers, accommodates more than 1.5 million Palestinians, the majority of whom were forced to flee there in search of safety.

The displaced people face unbearable conditions inside thousands of tents spread throughout the city. Even the sidewalks are crowded with these tents, and the main roads have turned into crowded markets.

The Rafah land crossing is considered a lifeline for the citizens of the Gaza Strip, and the only land port for bringing in aid and evacuating the injured noting that any military attack on Rafah means deprivation of food and medical aid.

Y.S