Rafah contains more than 1,400,000 Palestinians, including 1,300,000 displaced people (Reuters)

On Saturday, the State of Qatar called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to prevent Israel from invading the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

This came in a statement by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemning in the strongest terms the Israeli threats to storm Rafah.

Doha warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the city, which has become a final refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people inside the besieged Strip. It also called for providing full protection to civilians in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.

It called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to prevent the Israeli occupation forces from invading Rafah and committing genocide in the city.

It also affirmed its categorical rejection of attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from Gaza.

Earlier Saturday, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina called on Washington to “take serious action to stop the Israeli madness,” with Tel Aviv preparing to invade Rafah Governorate, the last refuge for the displaced in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is preparing to carry out a ground military operation in Rafah, while the army and security services intend to formulate a plan to evacuate the city of residents, according to Israeli media.

On Saturday, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the military operation in Rafah would begin after the completion of a large-scale evacuation of civilians from the city and its suburbs.

Accordingly, the government media office in Gaza warned of a global catastrophe and massacre if Israel invaded Rafah Governorate.

Rafah, the last refuge for the displaced in the stricken sector, includes more than 1,400,000 Palestinians, including 1,300,000 displaced people from other governorates.

Since the beginning of the ground operation launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip on October 27, it has been asking residents to go from the north and center of the Strip to the south, claiming that they are “safe areas,” but it has not been spared from bombing homes, cars, and hospitals.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies