Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued a joint statement, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for humanitarian purposes.

The countries said in their joint statement that they are deeply concerned about indications that the occupation is planning a ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

It indicated that any military operation on Rafah would be disastrous, stressing that its effects would be devastating on Palestinian civilians.

It pointed out that there is an urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for humanitarian purposes, and there is a need to negotiate a political solution to achieve lasting peace, according to the statement.

For days, Israel has been threatening to launch a ground attack on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are besieged, displaced from their homes from various parts of the Gaza Strip, and living in tents in difficult humanitarian conditions.

A ground aggression against Rafah would cause genocide against the Palestinians, who lost the necessities of life, amid fears of the occupation’s plans to forcibly displace them from the Strip.

During the past 24 hours, Israeli army committed 11 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 103 killed and 145 wounded, in addition to massive destruction of private and public property.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health indicated, in a statement, that the toll of the Israeli aggression had risen to 28,576 killed and 68,291 wounded since the seventh of last October.

The Ministry confirmed that there are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads, and the occupation prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.