UNITED NATIONS, February 13. /TASS/. Palestinian Permanent Observer to the United Nations Riyad Mansour has called for an end to Israel’s strikes on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip in a letter to the UN Security Council.

"I write again with extreme urgency to reiterate our appeal for urgent international mobilization to stop Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Three days ago, we called again for immediate international action, warning in particular of Israel’s threats to carry out an assault on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip," the letter reads.

Mansour pointed out that Rafah was sheltering civilians who had fled their homes due to military activities. "Emboldened by the Council’s continued paralysis and the cover given to it by some permanent members, Israel has launched its threatened invasion of Rafah, killing more than 164 people and injuring hundreds more in the span of these two days. Among the victims are babies who were born in recent months and whose entire existence was lived in the midst of a genocide and the terror, trauma, starvation and misery inflicted by Israel on them and their families," the Palestinian diplomat noted.

On February 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country’s military had received orders to prepare for the start of fighting in the city of Rafah on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. Two days later, he instructed the army to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians and eliminate the remaining four battalions of the Palestinian radical Hamas movement in the city. On the night of February 12, Arab media reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had launched massive strikes on Rafah. According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, at least 100 people fell victim to the bombardment and more than 230 were wounded.