Israel’s allies have “blood on their hands”, an Irish charity has warned as thousands of Palestinians began evacuating the southern Gaza city of Rafah ahead of an expected ground invasion.
It comes as Hamas said it had accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to end the seven-month conflict that has seen almost 35,000 Palestinians killed.
Details of the proposal emerged as the Stormont Assembly prepares to debate a motion on Tuesday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The motion is being brought to the chamber by the SDLP, and calls for a rejection of any ground assault by Israeli troops in Rafah.
The acceptance of the deal by Hamas on Monday came after Israel ordered 100,000 people to leave part of Rafah and head to a “humanitarian area” in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis regions of Gaza, ahead of what it has described as a “limited” operation.
Hamas has called the order a “dangerous escalation that will have consequences”.
It was reported on Monday that overnight strikes in Rafah had killed 19 Palestinians, following rocket attacks that saw four Israeli soldiers killed at a nearby border crossing.
The US State Department said in a press conference on Monday that America “cannot support an operation in Rafah as it is currently envisioned”.
Spokesperson Matthew Millar said an offensive in the city would “dramatically increase the suffering of the Palestinian people”.
He added that the US was reviewing the truce deal which it emerged on Monday afternoon Hamas has agreed to.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call on Monday about Rafah, where around 1.5 million Palestinians are now sheltering.
The terms of the Egypt/Qatar deal reportedly includes the return of hostages taken during the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and the reconstruction of Gaza.
However, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, poured cold water on news of Hamas’ acceptance of the deal, calling it “tricks and games”.
He said Israel’s response should be “an immediate order to conquer Rafah, increase military pressure, and continue to crush Hamas until it is utterly defeated”.
The planned ground assault has been criticised by Oxfam Ireland as a “horrifying development in the ongoing barbaric onslaught” in Gaza.
The charity’s chief executive Jim Clarkan said: “Everyone today is asking themselves how one country can continue to be allowed to kill and starve with such impunity?
“The fear in Rafah is palpable, as people who have already been forced to flee across Gaza multiple times, must now move again.”
Mr Clarkan said Oxfam has 22 staff working in Gaza, including five in Rafah.
“Over 1.3 million people – mostly women and children – already suffering unimaginable horrors of starvation, displacement, disease, and deprivation, are now caged in the last remaining corner of the besieged enclave, with no operational hospital and nowhere else to go. Safely and legally evacuating them in such a short time is impossible.
He added: “The time has come when we in Ireland must call out our international friends who, through open or tacit support for Israel, are allowing this travesty to happen before our very eyes.
“Israel’s allies have blood on their hands. In everything we do in Ireland, through the EU and internationally we must work to end this deepening nightmare.”