SHAH ALAM - The Malaysian Humanitarian and Relief (Mahar) has called on people from all walks of life, to rise and pressure Israel and its allies to stop compounding the misery of the people of Gaza, especially those taking refuge in Rafah.
Its advisor Nurul Izzah Anwar said Rafah remains one of the last areas that have not been destroyed by Israeli military aggression and is now a refuge to over a million Gazans.
"Israel has been using dirty tactics holding Rafah and all Palestinians there as hostages in forcing Hamas to agree to their terms in the ceasefire process.
"After several rounds of negotiations and ceasefire proposals, Hamas gave the impression that it would accept the ceasefire proposed by Qatar and Egypt.
"However, the world was once again shocked by Israel's hypocrisy when it sent its troops to the Rafah immigration complex,” she said in a statement today.
With this move, she said the Israeli army has now taken control of the Rafah immigration complex which is the entry and exit point from Gaza and Egypt.
"Occupying forces went to the extent of lowering the Palestinian flag and raising the Israeli flag at the complex.
"As a result of this latest move by Israel, Rafah can no longer be used for the movement of volunteers and aid,” she added.
The PKR vice-president said there were also reports in the Hebrew media that Israeli army tanks are operating in the Philadelphi Corridor.
"This clearly indicates that Israel has violated the 2005 Philadelphi Accord which agreed that the area is a demilitarised zone.
"What worries us is that Israel is continuing to kill and destroy life in Gaza even though the ceasefire proposal has been accepted - simply to fulfill Netanyahu's evil wishes.
"The world must pay full attention to the human catastrophe happening in Rafah now,” she added.