AGENCIES

An Israeli military incursion into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah could lead to a “bloodbath”, the World Health Organization warned Friday, announcing contingency plans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas’s remaining fighters in Rafah, where much of Gaza’s population has sought refuge from nearly seven months of Israeli offensive.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of possible dire implications for the 1.2 million people sheltering in Rafah.

“WHO is deeply concerned that a full-scale military operation in Rafah, Gaza, could lead to a bloodbath, and further weaken an already broken health system,” Tedros said on X, formerly Twitter.

In a statement, the WHO announced contingency efforts, but warned “the broken health system would not be able to cope with a surge in casualties and deaths that a Rafah incursion would cause”.

According to the WHO, most of the besieged territory’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed amid heavy Israeli bombardment, reports AFP.

Only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and 22 of its 88 primary health facilities are “partially functional”, the UN health agency said. “As part of contingency efforts, WHO and partners are urgently working to restore and resuscitate health services,” the statement said.

It added that Rafah’s three currently operational hospitals would become unreachable “when hostilities intensify in their vicinity”.

Instead, the WHO is working to restore south Gaza’s largest hospital, the Nasser Medical Complex in nearby Khan Yunis, and establish additional medical sites.

A military operation in Rafah could spark a new wave of displacement, leading to more overcrowding, limited access to food, water and sanitation and more outbreaks of disease, he added.

Meanwhile, scores of lawmakers from US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party told him on Friday that they believe there is sufficient evidence to show that Israel has violated US law by restricting humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.

A letter to Biden signed by 86 House of Representatives Democrats said Israel’s aid restrictions “call into question” its assurances that it was complying with a US Foreign Assistance Act provision requiring recipients of US-funded arms to uphold international humanitarian law and allow free flows of US assistance, reports Reuters.