UN agencies slam Israeli offensive in Rafah as 'darkest' day

Geneva, May 7 (IANS/DPA) The humanitarian agencies of the United Nations have condemned Israel's advance into Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, a spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, Ravina Shamdasani, said that for civilians who have been ordered to evacuate, there are no safe routes to the north and no safe havens with sufficient sanitary facilities and food supplies.

These are basic humanitarian requirements for evacuations, she said in Geneva.

"There are strong indications that this is being conducted in violation of international humanitarian law," she added.

"This morning is one of the darkest in this seven-months-long nightmare," said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Israeli forces had ignored all warnings about the impact of a Rafah offensive on the civilian population, he said.

"Panic and despair have taken hold."

"Our worst fears seem to be a reality," said James Elder, a spokesman for the UN children's fund Unicef.

--IANS/DPA

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Source: IANS