to report «iusnews»; Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian strongly condemned continuation of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip which has so far killed at least 18,600 people, and further cautioned that the regime’s move could lead to influx of refugees to West Asia and Europe.
Addressing the Global Refugee Forum 2023, which is underway in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, the top diplomat called for an immediate end to the Israeli onslaught on the besieged territory, which he said is creating a refugee crisis in the region and beyond.
Amir Abdollahian added the Zionist regime intends to forcibly push Palestinians out of their homeland through indiscriminate bombing of innocent people and residential buildings in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian minister slammed the unbroken US support for Israel, saying the United Nations has been prevented by the US from taking any effective step to achieve a ceasefire in the besieged territory.
Amir Abdollahian added that the only way to avert a crisis is to stop the genocidal invasion of Gaza and prevent the forced displacement of Palestinians.
The senior diplomat underlined that the world must rush to the Palestinians’ help, and to send humanitarian aid, including medicine, food, and fuel, to Gaza and also the West Bank.
“No conscientious person can remain indifferent to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the entire Palestine,” he underscored.
The United Nations refugee agency has warned that the “catastrophe” unfolding in the Gaza Strip threatens to create additional displacement across the Middle East.
Speaking at the Global Refugee Forum on Wednesday, Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said that the conflict threatens to destabilise the entire region and further swell the number of displaced people globally, which already sits at an all-time high of 144 million.
“A major human catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” Grandi warned, lamenting that “so far, the Security Council has failed to stop the violence".
“We foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region,” Grandi added.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, also accused Israel of seeking a mass expulsion of people from Gaza into Egypt.
“The United Nations and several member states, including the United States, have firmly rejected forcibly displacing Gazans out of the Gaza Strip,” he warned on Sunday.
In early October, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air against Israel. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,200 and injured over 5,500, according to Israeli officials. Hamas also announced it is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages.
Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 18,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children and women, and wounding over 50,000 others, and levelling entire neighbourhoods. Thousands more are missing and feared buried under the rubble. The bombing, as well as enforced displacement orders by the Israeli Army, has also pushed 1.9 million people out of their homes.
Tel Aviv has also imposed a "complete siege" on Gaza, cutting off food, electricity, fuel and water supplies. The move has plunged the blockaded territory into a humanitarian crisis.
