Germany’s Scholz warns ground attack on Rafah would be irresponsible

FRANKFURT, May 11 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a ground attack on Gaza’s southern city of Rafah by Israel would be irresponsible and lead to a massive loss of civilian lives.

“We think an offensive on Rafah would be irresponsible. We warn against it,” Scholz said at a webcast event organised by German newspaper group RND.

“We don’t believe that there is any approach that would not lead in the end to incredible loss of human life of innocent civilians,” Scholz said, adding that he had told this to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Despite heavy U.S. pressure and alarm expressed by residents and humanitarian groups, Israel has said it will proceed with an incursion into Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced people have sought refuge during the seven-month war.

Israel called on Saturday for Palestinians in more areas of Rafah to evacuate and head to what it calls an expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in a further indication that the military is pressing ahead with its plans for a ground attack. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Editing by David Holmes)

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