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Guterres: Israeli Offensive on Rafah Could Worsen ‘Humanitarian Nightmare’

UN chief Antonio Guterres. Reuters
UN chief Antonio Guterres. Reuters
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Guterres: Israeli Offensive on Rafah Could Worsen ‘Humanitarian Nightmare’

UN chief Antonio Guterres. Reuters
UN chief Antonio Guterres. Reuters

An Israeli offensive on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip “would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare,” warned UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday.

“Half of Gaza’s population is now crammed into Rafah with nowhere to go,” Guterres said on X.

“Reports that the Israeli military intends to focus next on Rafah are alarming. Such an action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences,” he added.

More than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have fled to Rafah, heeding Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the military’s expanding ground offensive. Evacuation orders now cover two-thirds of the tiny besieged enclave.

Even in areas of refuge, such as Rafah, Israel routinely launches air strikes against what it says are Hamas targets.

Israeli ground forces are still focusing on the city of Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly warned this week that Rafah would be next, creating panic among hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

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At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
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At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)

At least 69 people died after a boat headed from West Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off Morocco on Dec. 19, Malian authorities said, as data showed deaths of migrants attempting to reach Spain surged to an all-time high in 2024.

The makeshift boat was carrying around 80 people when it capsized. Only 11 survived, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement on Thursday, after collecting information to reconstruct the incident.

A crisis unit has been set up to monitor the situation, it added, Reuters reported. The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach mainland Spain, has seen a surge this year, with 41,425 arrivals in January-November already exceeding last year's record 39,910.

Years of conflict in the Sahel region that includes Mali, unemployment and the impact of climate change on farming communities are among the reasons why people attempt the crossing.

One person died among 300 people who arrived on six boats on Friday on the island of El Hierro in the Canaries, according to the Red Cross.

The Atlantic route, which includes departure points in Senegal and Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco, is the world's deadliest, according to migrant aid group Walking Borders.

In its annual report released this week, the group said 9,757 migrants died at sea in 2024 trying to reach the Spanish archipelago from Africa's Atlantic coast. A record 10,457 people - or nearly 30 people a day - died attempting to reach Spain this year from all routes, according to the report.

The route departing from Mauritania, which has been particularly well used this year by migrants leaving the Sahel region, was the deadliest, accounting for 6,829 deaths.