Israeli authorities are reviewing military plans for an attack on southern Rafah, a city once called a “safe zone” where Palestinians were ordered to move to.
“Residents of the Gaza Strip will be evacuated from Rafah before initiating military operations there,” Israeli public broadcaster KAN quoted “political sources” as saying.
On Monday, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated the military’s “next target” in Gaza will be Rafah, claiming it’s the last remaining Hamas stronghold.
Rights groups have warned against any Israeli offensive in Rafah, which could result in a huge loss of lives with an estimated 1.4 million people sheltering there.
The UN says “everything possible” must be done to avoid an Israeli attack on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, which it says could lead to a “large scale” loss of life.
“We can warn what might unfold with the ground invasion, and we can make clear what the law says,” the UN humanitarian office warned.
“Under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a briefing in Geneva.
“So to be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that.”
About 1.4 million people are sheltering in Rafah after being ordered there by Israeli forces, which previously described the area as a “safe zone”.
