Palestine decries Israel's 'deceptive' talk about Rafah safe corridor

The Palestinian presidency has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks about a safe corridor for citizens in Rafah, calling them a "deception to the world" 'aimed at endorsing forced displacement outside of Gaza.

The US should not adhere to Israeli policy, especially as the region has reached a crossroads, and the continuous war against the Palestinian people will expand the confrontation regionally," Palestine's news agency Wafa quotes Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh as saying on Monday.

"The massacres inflicted on our people in Gaza must be stopped, especially if the occupying army launches a ground attack on the densely populated city of Rafah," he added.

Abu Rudeineh emphasised that the Israeli prime minister's talk of a safe corridor for citizens is "pure deception" because there is no longer a safe place in Gaza.

'New Nakba'

"A new Nakba and a forced displacement outside Gaza are completely unacceptable," he added.

Palestinians sought refuge in Rafah after the Israeli army launched intensified bombardments on Gaza and Khan Younis cities, as well as their surrounding towns and neighbourhoods, on Oct. 7, killing more than 28,000 people and causing widespread destruction and shortages of necessities.

Tel Aviv forced over 1.4M Palestinians to relocate to the small city of Rafah, promising them that the city on Egypt's border would be safe.

However, On Sunday evening and early Monday morning, the Israeli army conducted a series of violent raids on various areas of Rafah, killing over 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more, including children and women.

The Israeli army used gunboats to bomb the seashore, as well as helicopters to fire machine guns at citizens and displaced people amid some resistance from people in the northwest of Rafah.