Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 19, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 19, 2024
German government deeply concerned about planned Rafah offensive
Volunteers distribute rations of soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024 (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Germany expresses worry about an envisaged Israeli offensive in Rafah.
“We are deeply concerned about the ground offensive in Rafah,” a government spokesperson says during a regular press conference in Berlin. “It is difficult to correctly assess the humanitarian situation there, but I think everyone recognizes that it is catastrophic.”
If there is to be an offensive, Israel must answer the question of how to evacuate the up to 1.3 million civilians who are currently sheltering there, the spokesperson adds.
