BRUSSELS, Friday, February 9, 2024 (WAFA) – Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said today that reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, are alarming, warning of the catastrophic consequences of such move.

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

The population of the Rafah province has swelled to an estimated 1.4 million citizens, up from approximately 250,000 before the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7 last year.

This dramatic increase is due to the forced displacement of a large number of residents from other areas in the Gaza Strip, driven by continuous Israeli airstrikes, the obstruction of aid delivery to the central and northern regions, and the Israeli ground invasion that reached the Khan Yunis governorate in the south.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the occupation army to prepare a plan "to evacuate residents from Rafah and initiate a military operation in the area," according to a statement from his office issued on Friday evening.

M.N