Israel should be pressed not to attack Rafah, home to 1.7M Palestinians: EU foreign policy chief

Israel should be pressed not to attack the city of Rafah, home to 1.7 million Palestinians, said the EU's foreign policy chief on Monday.

"Even the US, the strongest supporter of Israel, the President (Joe) Biden himself, considers that this action is disproportionate, the toll of civilians being killed is unbearable and (is) warning Israel not to continue this way," Josep Borrell said.

"If you believe the toll of death is too high, maybe you can do something about it," he said, adding that the EU is not providing Israel with weapons, unlike the US does.

"We should do more than expressing concern," Borrell also said.

Palestinians sought refuge in Rafah after the Israeli army launched intensified bombardments on Gaza and Khan Younis cities, as well as their surrounding towns and neighborhoods, on Oct. 7, killing more than 28,000 people and causing widespread destruction and shortages of necessities.