An Israeli ground attack in Rafah would lead to “colossal humanitarian disaster”, warned the UN Secretary General on Friday May 10, after the departure, without agreement, of negotiators from Israel and Hamas from truce talks in Cairo (Egypt). “We are actively engaged with all relevant parties to resume the entry of vital supplies – including desperately needed fuel – through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.”, said Antonio Guterres, during a visit to Nairobi (Kenya), adding that a famine was looming in the enclave. Follow our live stream.
Some 110,000 people have fled Rafah to areas deemed less dangerous. The city is threatened with a large-scale assault by the Israeli army, which has called on civilians to evacuate. “Some 30,000 people flee the city every day.”declared the head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs for Gaza (Ocha), specifying that “Most of these people have already had to travel five or six times” since the start of the war.
No agreement between Hamas and Israel. The Hamas and Israeli delegations left the talks in Cairo, Egypt, on the evening of Thursday, May 9, after two days of fruitless discussions. Israel “rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators which we had accepted. As a result, the ball is now entirely in the occupation’s court”says Hamas,
UNRWA closes its offices in East Jerusalem. This decision was taken Thursday evening after “Israeli extremists” have “set fire” to open-air areas outside these buildings, announced the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. In a video published on his X accountfilmed from outside the UN compound, demonstrators can be heard proclaiming “Burn the United Nations!”.
Joe Biden threatens to suspend arms deliveries to Israel. The American president intends to stop the delivery of certain types of bombs in the event of an offensive on the city of Rafah, the most severe warning from Washington, the main arms supplier to Israel, since the start of the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Beyamin Netanyahu said Israel would fight “alone” if necessary.