UN aid chief warns of possible spillover of Gazans into Egypt

FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefs media on the launch of the funding appeal to support conflict-torn Sudan in 2024 at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2024. Griffiths warned on February 15 that a spillover of Palestinians amassed in Rafah into Egypt is likely if Israel launches a military operation against the border town. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA — The United Nations (UN) aid chief warned on Thursday of the possibility of a spillover of Palestinians amassed in Rafah into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation against the border town.

More than 1 million Palestinians are crammed into Rafah at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. Many are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it wants to flush out Islamist militants from hideouts in Rafah and free hostages being held there after the Hamas rampage in Israel on Oct. 7, but has given no details of a proposed plan to evacuate civilians.

READ: Israel raids main Gaza hospital as Rafah concerns grow

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces growing international pressure to hold off on the planned assault, has not indicated when the offensive might take place.

“The possibility of a military operation in Rafah, with the possibility of the (border) crossing closing down, with the possibility of spillover… a sort of Egyptian nightmare …is one that is right before our eyes,” Martin Griffiths told diplomats at the UN in Geneva.

He said the notion that the people of Gaza could evacuate to a safe place was an “illusion.”

“We must all hope that friends of Israel and those who care about Israel’s security give them good counsel at this moment,” the UN aid chief said.

READ: Israeli forces intensify strikes on Rafah in southern Gaza

The UN has said an Israeli offensive on Rafah could “lead to a slaughter.”

Speaking at the same meeting as Griffiths, Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the absence of a clear evacuation plan, including for the sick and elderly, would bring suffering to a new level.

“The suffering on both sides, the carnage we have seen since the 7th of October, will reach unimaginable depths if operations on Rafah are intensified the way they have been announced,” Spoljaric said.