Palestinians mourn relatives killed in Israeli bombardment, at the al-Najjar hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

United Nations, May 9 (RHC)-- Palestine's UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour has called on the international community to intervene to stop Israel’s planned invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

In letters sent on Wednesday to the UN chief as well as the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, Mansour highlighted the dire situation in Rafah as Israel appears poised to mount an all-out military offensive against the overcrowded city.   He said that the international community must “immediately act to halt the planned Israeli attack on Rafah.”

Under international law and UN resolutions, the Security Council is duty-bound to “demand an end to the Israeli aggression, which poses a serious threat to international peace and security,” he added.

Israel waged a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 34,844 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 78,404 others.

On Tuesday, Israeli troops took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, a vital lifeline for aid to enter the territory.  Israeli officials said it was the first step towards a full-scale assault on Rafah, home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who have been displaced due to the Gaza onslaught.

Mansour said there is no justification for Israel’s inhuman acts, which have led to “indescribable suffering” of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.  He further emphasized that immediate action must be taken to make Israel commit to its international obligations in accordance with a ruling issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In January, The Hague-based court ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts according to the 1948 Genocide Convention.  Israel has blatantly defied the call, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the regime “will never accept any attempt by the ICC" to undermine what he called the right to defend itself. 

Israel is not a member of the International Court of Justice and does not recognize its jurisdiction.