UN Chief: Operation in Rafah to Have Devastating Impact on Middle East

"A military assault on Rafah would be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee," Antonio Guterres told journalists.

"It would have a devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza, with serious repercussions on the occupied West Bank, and across the wider region."

"I appeal for all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to prevent it," he stressed, TASS reported.

He recalled that more than 1.2 million people are seeking shelter in Rafah, "most of them fleeing the Israeli bombardment." "They have very little to eat, hardly any access to medical care, little shelter, and nowhere safe to go," he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Israel will conduct an operation in Rafah in any event.

Israel waged a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas Resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Israel has imposed a complete siege on the densely populated territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.