Israel is facing growing international pressure to call off plans to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, where over a million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge. The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand have issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire, warning that a military operation into Rafah would be “catastrophic.”

Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour spoke on Wednesday at the United Nations.

Riyad Mansour: “Our effort is to do everything possible to stop Israel from committing this crime of depopulating the Gaza Strip, and stopping the war immediately. The guarantee to do that is to have a resolution calling for a ceasefire. And we hope that the Security Council would elevate itself to that responsibility.”