The leaders of France, Egypt and Jordan have warned Israel against launching ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
They urged Tel Aviv to implement an “immediate” ceasefire in its war on Hamas.
“We warn against the dangerous consequences of an Israeli offensive on Rafah,” said a joint editorial published in several newspapers including the Washington Post by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II
They urged that a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire “be fully implemented without further delay”.
Meanwhile, France’s foreign minister said that pressure, and possibly sanctions, must be imposed on Israel to open crossings to get humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross check points,” Stephane Sejourne told RFI radio and France 24 television
“France was one of the first countries to propose European Union sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank. We will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid,” he said.
Some 33,207 Palestinians have been killed in six months of conflict, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday. Most of the enclave’s 2.3 million people are homeless and many at risk of famine.
Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel in a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict, according to Israeli tallies.
Meanwhile, Hamas has rejected a proposal that it had received from Qatari and Egyptian mediators, stating that the proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza did not meet any of the demands of the Palestinian factions. The group stated this in an early morning statement where it called the proposal “intransigent.” However, it stated to Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it would review the proposal. The statement comes after efforts, to free the over 100 hostages still being held by the group in Gaza.
With inputs from Reuters
