EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday said that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) plan to launch a military offensive on Rafah is "alarming".

"1.4 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah without a safe place to go, facing starvation," Borrell wrote on X. 

The regime announced earlier this month plans to invade the city of Rafah in Gaza's far south, where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge. After failing to agree on concessions proposed by Hamas for a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until the unrealistic goal of eliminating the resistance is reached. 

"Reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah are alarming," he added. "It would have catastrophic consequences worsening the already dire humanitarian situation and the unbearable civilian toll."

1.4 million Palestinians are currently in #Rafah without safe place to go, facing starvation.

Reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah are alarming. It would have catastrophic consequences worsening the already dire humanitarian situation & the unbearable civilian toll.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 9, 2024

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu ordered his officials to "submit to the cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions" of the Resistance, a statement issued by his office said.

"It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat," the statement added.

This city, positioned along the Egyptian border, has become a refuge for the majority of Palestinians fleeing the relentless Israeli onslaughts and massacres throughout the Strip. Rafah, now overwhelmed with makeshift tent cities, has become a sanctuary for families desperately seeking respite from the occupation's violence that has besieged their lives.

"We complete the mission and will continue to Rafah," Yoav Gallant posted on social media earlier this month, claiming that this comes after the occupation army "dismantled" the Resistance in Khan Younis.

The situation risks further escalation amid tensions on part of Cairo which would view the offensive on Rafah as a breach of Egypt's sovereignty.

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