The president of France Emmanuel Macron and its Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed “their strong opposition” to the possibility of an Israeli attack on Rafah, as well as “to any forced displacement of populations” to Egypt, which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law,” according to a press release issued today by the Elysee.

The two leaders, who had a telephone conversation yesterday, “expressed their strong opposition to an Israeli attack on Rafah, which would lead to a humanitarian disaster of a new magnitude, as well as to any forced displacement of populations into Egyptian territory, which would constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and would carry the additional risk of a regional escalation.”

The prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu declared determined to launch a ground attack on Rafawhere 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded, despite appeals from a part of the international community.

Macron and Sisi expressed their “very great concern at the worsening of the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the obstacles to the distribution of aid.”

They underlined “the urgent need to drastically increase aid inflows to the people of Gaza.”

“It is imperative to preserve the Rafa crossing, to open it port of Ashdoda land route directly from Jordan, as well as all border crossings,” the two leaders demand.

In addition, they insisted “on the urgent need to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages”, calling on the United Nations Security Council to “play its role in this direction”.

The presidents of France and Egypt they noted, in addition, “the need to work for an exit from the crisis and the decisive and irreversible re-promotion of the political process, in the direction of an effective implementation of the two-State solution”.