Arab lawmaker in Israel's Knesset says Netanyahu intends to commit 'war crimes' in Rafah

JERUSALEM

Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of intending to commit war crimes in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, urging the international community to stop Israeli’s planned offensive on the city.

"Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to invade Rafah, where Israel has already sent 1.5 million refugees from the northern and central Gaza Strip," Tibi said in a message during a meeting of his Arab Movement for Change parliamentary bloc in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, according to Knesset's X account.

He said the displaced Palestinians in Rafah are living in inhumane conditions, stressing that the Israeli army's overnight airstrikes on the tiny city on Monday left dozens killed, including children.

"He who intends to invade Rafah intends to commit war crimes," Tibi also said, adding that his party urges "the international community, that was complicit in encouraging the war, to try this time to prevent war crimes which threaten 1.5 million people living in tents," referring to Rafah.

Israel has said it plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million residents seeking refuge from war, to defeat what Tel Aviv calls the remaining "Hamas battalions."

Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah as Israel pounded the rest of the enclave since Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 28,340 victims and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has 85% of the territory’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

In an interim ruling in January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel’s government to cease genocidal acts and to take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar