Guterres warns of large numbers of casualties and calls on countries around the world to intervene urgently

Netanyahu sends a delegation without powers to Cairo and threatens to continue the invasion of Rafah

Amid international warnings of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the city of Rafah, and hours after the Hamas movement announced its approval of the Egyptian-Qatari proposal to end the war and complete a prisoner exchange deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed his forces to take control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing, vowing to continue... His forces marched to the besieged city to tighten the noose around it, close its last gateway to the world, and cut off the only remaining lifeline for the residents of the Strip from an attempt to thwart the efforts of the mediators aimed at concluding an exchange deal that would lead to an end to the war.

No sooner had the Hamas movement announced yesterday evening (Monday) its approval of the exchange and ceasefire proposal, than the Israeli War Council unanimously announced its approval as well, but not for a truce, but rather for “Israel to continue its operation in Rafah to apply military pressure on Hamas in order to strengthen the situation.” Releasing the hostages and achieving the other goals of the war,” Netanyahu’s office announced.

The Israeli army said in a statement, “The forces of the 401st Brigade took control of the Rafah crossing from the Gaza side, and separated the crossing from the Salah al-Din axis.”
The Israeli army broadcast video clips of its tanks raising the Israeli flag and roaming the squares of the Rafah crossing, along the Philadelphia axis (the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip), in an unprecedented scene since the Israeli withdrawal from the crossing and the Gaza Strip settlements in 2005.
The Salah al-Din Corridor (Philadelphia) is a 14-kilometre-long border strip separating the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian territories.

In parallel, the Israeli army continued to bomb Rafah, where more than half of the Gaza Strip’s population was crowded (most of whom were displaced), dashing hopes that had been revived after Hamas announced its acceptance of the truce and exchange proposal, which was formulated by the mediators and accepted by Israel before it was transferred to the Hamas movement.
The Netanyahu government (which was surprised by Hamas' acceptance) considered the proposal "far from its requirements."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "The military operation in Rafah will not stop until the Hamas movement is eliminated."

The occupation of the Rafah crossing has tragic dimensions for the people of the Gaza Strip, who have been subjected to a war of extermination, destruction, starvation, and a stifling siege for seven months.

Local and international bodies said that the occupation of the Rafah crossing, and the closure of the only commercial crossing with Gaza, would deepen the humanitarian and health disasters suffered by the Strip, whose residents are now suffering from real famine, as dozens of citizens were declared dead from starvation, in addition to the death of hundreds of sick and wounded people as a result of their inability to From receiving the required health care.

The spokesman for the Gaza Crossings Authority, Hisham Adwan, said in a press statement, “The occupation of the Rafah land crossing will exacerbate the humanitarian situation, especially for the sick and wounded, and residents will be sentenced to death as a result of stopping the entry of humanitarian aid.”

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that work at the Rafah crossing had been suspended as a result of the occupation’s control over it, preventing the wounded and sick and their companions from traveling to receive treatment outside Gaza, in addition to preventing the list that was supposed to travel yesterday.
It confirmed that trucks of medicines, medical equipment, and fuel needed for hospitals were also prevented.
Official estimates indicate that 11,000 of those wounded in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and 10,000 cancer patients, urgently need to travel in order to receive life-saving treatment abroad.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said, “The continued interruption of the entry of aid and fuel supplies through the Rafah crossing will stop the humanitarian response throughout the Gaza Strip,” warning that “the hunger catastrophe that people are facing, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, will get worse if it stops.” Entry of supplies.

The Hamas movement considered the storming of the Rafah crossing a “dangerous escalation,” noting that “this crime, which comes directly after the movement announced its approval of the mediators’ proposal, confirms the occupation’s intention to disrupt mediation efforts for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners.”

Xinhua news agency quoted an "informed Egyptian source" as saying that the Israeli delegation informed the Egyptian side during the negotiations held yesterday in Cairo that Israel seeks to entrust the management of the Rafah crossing to Palestinian parties other than Hamas.
The source explained that the Israeli delegation discussed with the Egyptian side several points regarding the ceasefire proposal.

Cairo News Channel quoted a high-ranking source as saying that the Egyptian security delegation stressed to its Israeli counterpart the need to stop the escalation in order to avoid the catastrophic consequences expected from the continuation of the escalation.

The source stressed that "there is no truth in form or substance to what was circulated in the Israeli media regarding Egypt assuming any security responsibilities inside the Gaza Strip of any kind."
The British newspaper "Financial Times" quoted an Israeli official as saying that Egypt is angry with Israel because it did not accept the proposed agreement that Cairo worked on for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

The newspaper quoted a well-informed diplomat as saying that the ceasefire agreement proposal approved by Hamas is similar to a proposal supported by Israel earlier.
An Israeli security delegation, including officials from the Mossad and Shin Bet, arrived in Cairo yesterday to negotiate a ceasefire and exchange proposal, in conjunction with the presence of delegations from Qatar, the United States of America, and Hamas in the Egyptian capital to complete discussions aimed at reaching a truce and ending the war.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to reopen the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings “immediately” to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, and called on it to stop the escalation.
Guterres warned that a “large-scale attack” on Rafah, which is crowded with citizens, would constitute a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

The United Nations World Food Program expressed “deep” concern over the closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, “which poses challenges to the arrival of aid” to the Strip, explaining that current food stocks “only cover 1-4 days of needs in Rafah and Deir al-Balah And Khan Yunus.”