Australia, Canada, NZ urge Israel to avoid 'catastrophic' Rafah operation

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00:00 "There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go," said a rare joint statement published

00:05 by Australia, Canada and New Zealand's prime ministers on Thursday.

00:10 This as Israel prepares a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, Gaza, whose

00:14 population has increased five-fold as Palestinians from across the Strip have fled there in hopes

00:20 of finding safety.

00:21 "I wish to restate the Australian government's grave concerns about an impending major Israeli

00:28 ground offensive in Rafah.

00:31 This would bring further devastation to more than a million civilians seeking shelter in

00:35 Rafah, many there by Israel's direction.

00:39 Australia believes this would be unjustifiable."

00:42 Wednesday saw Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez pen a letter

00:47 to Ursula von der Leyen for an urgent EU review of potential human rights violations committed

00:54 by the Israeli campaign in Gaza.

00:57 The letter states that the expanded Israeli military operation in Rafah possesses a grave

01:01 and imminent threat that the international community must confront urgently.

01:06 And on a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday, German diplomacy chief Annalena Baerbock made an

01:11 emotive plea to the Israeli government, evoking Israeli evacuation orders that encouraged

01:17 civilians to seek refuge in Rafah and the plight of those who left their homes carrying

01:22 their children with nothing but the clothes on their back.

01:27 "If the Israeli army were to launch an offensive on Rafah under these conditions, it would

01:32 be a humanitarian catastrophe in the making."

01:36 This after talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Lapid, who believe the senior

01:41 Hamas operatives behind the 7th of October attacks are hiding out in the Rafah area.

01:46 The Prime Minister maintained on Wednesday that Israel would fight until what he called

01:51 complete victory.

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