Shafaq News / The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement released in response to reports about Israel's planned military operation in Rafah.

In the statement the prime ministers of the three countries said, “We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic.”

"An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed."

The statement discouraged Israel from launching the attack, but it also said that any truce had to be “mutual,” and that Hamas had to give up its weapons and free all the hostages right away.

The leaders also pointed out that the International Court of Justice’s ruling in January on a genocide case filed by South Africa required Israel to safeguard civilians and provide essential services and humanitarian aid.

"The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law," the statement said. "Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas."

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, “Israel will press ahead with an offensive against Hamas in Rafah, the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, after allowing civilians to vacate the area.”

Notably, The US President Joe Biden affirmed, on Monday, that the United States is actively engaged in negotiating a minimum six-week ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.