Thousands of displaced people live in temporary tents in Rafah after they lost their homes and the occupation ordered them to leave their cities (Reuters)

Warnings continued - today, Saturday - of a massive humanitarian catastrophe if Israel invades the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, which is the last refuge for the displaced in the besieged Strip, and about one million and 400 thousand Palestinians currently live there, after the occupation army approved a military operation there yesterday.

The government media office in Gaza warned of a global catastrophe and massacre that could leave tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded if the occupation forces began a ground operation in the city to which they had ordered the residents of the Gaza Strip to flee since the start of the war on October 7.

He called on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution ensuring that the occupation is obligated to stop the genocide it is committing against the Palestinian people.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) also warned that the occupation would commit massacres in Rafah, which is crowded with displaced people living in harsh humanitarian conditions.

Hamas said that the US administration's position of not supporting the attack on Rafah does not absolve it of full responsibility for its consequences.

The League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the UN Security Council also called for urgent and serious action to prevent genocide in the city of Rafah.

Displacement of Palestinians

The Palestinian presidency indicated - in a statement - that the Israeli plans to invade Rafah are intended to displace the Palestinian people from their land, stressing that launching a military operation in the crowded city would cross all red lines, as it put it.

The United Nations warned against any military operation in the city of Rafah, and said that any mass forced displacement imposed on its residents and displaced persons would be a violation of international law.

Doctors Without Borders said that repeated forced displacement is what pushed Gazans to Rafah, where they became trapped without options and living in temporary tents.

Invitation to the Security Council

For its part, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concern about the Israeli threat to invade Rafah, and warned of extremely dangerous repercussions.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to convene urgently to prevent Israel from invading Rafah and causing a humanitarian catastrophe for which everyone who supports the occupation bears responsibility.

"Where do they go?"

Most of the displaced people who left the northern and central Gaza Strip - which were subjected to massive destruction - live in the city of Rafah, and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, conveyed the concern of the displaced people in Rafah, saying that they have no idea where to go after the Israeli threat.

For his part, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said that if the Israeli army invaded the city of Rafah, it would be a “bloodbath,” stressing that no war could be allowed in a huge camp for the displaced.

To the north again

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced on Friday that he had asked the army to develop a plan to "evacuate the population and destroy" 4 Hamas battalions that he said were deployed in Rafah.

For its part, Reuters quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Israel will try to organize the movement of the displaced in Rafah to the north, from which they previously fled, before any military operation in Rafah.

Disagreement over the invasion

The US administration rejected Israel launching a military operation in Rafah in light of the complete absence of protection for civilians, but Netanyahu insists on the necessity of launching a military operation, which led to a dispute erupting between him and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that a dispute broke out between Netanyahu and Halevy a few days ago regarding the expected operation in Rafah, because the Prime Minister requested the dismantling of Hamas brigades in Rafah before the month of Ramadan.

But the Chief of Staff, according to the source, confirmed that the army’s plan in Rafah requires favorable conditions, including evacuation operations and prior coordination with Egypt.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies