Italy, as coordinator of the G7, along with a dozen Western countries, have sent a letter to Israel opposing its large-scale attack in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, an area of the enclave that the Israeli Army has not yet taken. to the Hamas group.
The letter was coordinated by the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, as part of the country’s current presidency of the G7, and it reiterates “opposition to a large-scale military operation in Rafah.”
Addressed to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, the letter was also signed by Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, countries that, together with Italy, They ask Israel to provide “a credible plan to protect the civilians” remaining in Rafah.
Without the United States
The letter was not signed by the United States, which has been pressuring Israel for some time to avoid a major offensive in Rafah given the large presence of the civilian population in this city, which before the start of the war on October 7 had about 275,000 inhabitants.
According to the United Nations, some 600,000 people have left Rafah in recent weeks due to evacuation orders from Israel, which is intensifying its attacks on this place that, until recently, was the last refuge for Palestinians.
As Israeli troops have gained access to Rafah, this has also implied a blockage of access to humanitarian aid, which entered through the city’s border crossing with Egypt, aggravating the shortage of food, water, and basic supplies. or fuel for the Gazan population.
“We urge the Israeli Government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through all relevant border crossings, including Rafah,” demanded the signatory countries of the letter, which stressed “the urgent need to adopt measures” to “increase “significantly the flow of aid” to the Strip. MS (dpa/efe)
