Foreign ministers from 13 nations have issued a stern warning to Israel against launching a comprehensive military attack on Rafah, located in southern Gaza, according to multiple media reports.
The four-page letter, dated last Wednesday and excluding the United States, was signed by all the members of the major industrialized Group of Seven nations, as reported by “Süddeutsche Zeitung” today, Friday.
The ministers, in their correspondence addressed to Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense while condemning the October 7th attack by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Concurrently, they have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to do everything within its power to alleviate the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
According to the newspaper, the ministers also called for the opening of all border crossings into the coastal enclave to facilitate aid entry, including the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
This comes just over a week after the Israeli army advanced towards Rafah from the east, despite strong international warnings, subsequently taking control of the Palestinian side of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing.
Since then, this crucial border crossing has been shut down to humanitarian aid, with Israel and Egypt blaming each other for the closure.
The signatories of the letter include the foreign ministers of the G7 nations—Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, and Canada—along with Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, and Sweden.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced the deployment of additional forces in Rafah. According to the Israeli military, hundreds of targets have been struck and numerous tunnels destroyed.
The United Nations reports that approximately 600,000 people have already fled the border city adjacent to Egypt.
