UN chief says a Rafah assault would be a human catastrophe

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday appealed to Israel and Hamas to spare no effort to get a truce deal and warned Israel that an assault on Rafah would “be a strategic mistake, a political calamity, and a humanitarian nightmare.”

“I am disturbed and distressed by the renewed military activity in Rafah,” Guterres told reporters. “The closure of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately.”