Joly says Israeli Rafah invasion would be ‘unacceptable,’ urges ceasefire

As Israeli forces take control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly warns of a 'catastrophic' situation.

As Israeli forces seize control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, is warning the offensive could have dire consequences in an already “catastrophic” situation.

“An invasion of Rafah, which would endanger the lives of women and children and innocent civilians, is completely unacceptable,” Joly said on her way into a cabinet meeting Tuesday.

“We need a ceasefire now. We need to make sure that hostages be released. We need to make sure humanitarian aid goes into Gaza. The violence must stop. Hamas must lay down its weapons.”

Rafah is the main gateway for humanitarian aid into southern Gaza.

More than a million people are crammed into the city, most of whom have been displaced by the conflict, which reached its seven-month mark this week.

“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” Joly said.

Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, announced on Monday it had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

“We’ve been following the negotiations, which are very fluid. We’ve been in contact with many officials on the Israeli side, on the Qatari side, on the Egyptian side. We hope the negotiations are fruitful,” Joly said.