The US Secretary of State spoke about the Israeli offensive

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In the absence of such a plan, we cannot support such a broad military action against Rafah, as the damage would exceed an acceptable level

Blinken stated at the McCain Institute forum in Arizona.

In the southern part of the Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt, about 280,000 people lived in Rafah before the war, but due to the fighting, more than 1.5 million people have crowded into the city, along with refugees from the rest of the strip. Blinken underlined: the ceasefire now depends only on the Hamas terrorist organization that controls the zone.

“We’ll see if they agree to a ceasefire and the release of the hostages” – he stated. The discussions on the ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages taken to Gaza at the beginning of October will continue in Egypt on Saturday.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that So far, Israel has not presented any comprehensive plan to Washington to guarantee the protection of civilians regarding the planned operation, although, as he said, they had discussed the offensive several times, including with US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, the director-general of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also expressed his concern about the Israeli army’s possible ground operation in Rafah, and in his message published on Friday, Xfor a blood bath” warned. The WHO highlighted that

only 33 percent of the 36 hospitals in the zone are operational,

adding that there is also a shortage of staff and basic medical equipment.

Cover image source: Getty Images