Rafah assault 'could lead to a bloodbath': WHO chief
The Peninsula
Geneva: An Israeli military incursion into Gaza s southern city of Rafah could lead to a bloodbath , the World Health Organization warned Friday, ann...
Geneva: 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.
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".
"This contingency plan is Band-Aids," Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva. "It will absolutely not prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity caused by a military operation."