UK 'deeply concerned' at threatened Rafah attack

Germany warned of a 'humanitarian catastrophe' if the offensive is launched

Mourners grieve the death of Palestinians in Israeli strikes in Rafah. Reuters

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The UK is “deeply concerned” as Israel appears to be planning a military operation in Rafah, a city crowded with Palestinians already forced to flee from fighting elsewhere in Gaza, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Saturday.

The UAE, Spain, Germany and Jordan have all also expressed worries that Israel's plan is a crisis-in-waiting.

Rafah is one of the only regions not yet targeted by the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza and is providing refuge to more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population.

It is the last remaining stronghold for Hamas in Gaza after more than four months of conflict triggered by the deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

“Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area,” Lord Cameron wrote on the X social media platform.

“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.”

The Israeli bombing of Khiam, a village near the southern Lebanese border with Israel. AFP

Members of the Ghannam family check the damage to their home after an Israeli air strike hit the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. EPA

Mourners at Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A rescuer puts out a fire after a car was hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

At Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Palestinians mourn after identifying the bodies of relatives killed in overnight Israeli bombardment on the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinian families take refuge at a school affiliated with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Daraj neighbourhood. Getty Images

Palestinian-Irish plastic surgeon Ahmed El Mokhallalati checks in on a Palestinian man wounded in an Israeli strike, at the European Hospital, in Khan Younis. Reuters

A Palestinian man carries a bag of flour, as displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter near the border with Egypt in Rafah. Reuters

Palestinian woman Amal Abu Hashesh, who escaped with her prosthetic leg after her house was hit by an Israeli strike, takes shelter in the European Hospital. Reuters

Palestinians gather around a Hamas police vehicle after it was struck by an Israeli air strike in Rafah. AP

Mother of hostage Amit Esther Buskila holds a poster of her daughter during a press conference in Paris with representatives of families of French hostages held by Hamas. Reuters

People dance as Israeli protesters gather to block the entry of humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. AFP

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment in Rafah. AFP

Palestinians move along Salah Al Din road after an Israeli air strike on Al Maghazi refugee camp. EPA

Displaced children sit on wooden pallets, as displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp near the border with Egypt in Rafah. Reuters

An Israeli tank moves along the border with Gaza in southern Israel. Getty Images

Displaced Palestinians near the border with Egypt in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A man carried an injured Palestinian man to Al Aqsa Hospital after an Israeli air strike in Deir Al-Balah in southern Gaza. Bloomberg

A Palestinian woman reacts after an Israeli air strike in Deir Al-Balah. Bloomberg

Palestinians search the site of a destroyed residential building hit by an Israeli air strike in Deir Al-Balah. Bloomberg

A soldier visits the site of the Nova festival, with displayed photos of the people who were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack near the site. Reuters

A displaced Palestinian girl, who fled her house due to Israeli strikes, arranges plants on a grave in a cemetery where she shelters, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

The UAE, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed deep concern at the humanitarian repercussions of a military operation in Rafah.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned “another bloodbath in Gaza cannot be allowed”, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered the military to come up with a plan to expel people from Rafah.

Rafah is one of the few remaining places in Gaza that has not been heavily bombed. The city had a prewar population of about 280,000 but now hosts another roughly 1.4 million people who fled fighting elsewhere in the territory, according to the UN.

Germany warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” if the plan went ahead.

Foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock said: “The suffering in Rafah is unfathomable. In an extremely confined space, 1.3 million people are seeking shelter from the fighting.

“A large-scale [Israeli military] offensive in Rafah would be a humanitarian catastrophe in the making. The people of Gaza cannot vanish into thin air.”

After destroying Hamas strongholds across much of the rest of the Gaza Strip, Israel now wants to move on Rafah, where it says battalions of militants remain and operate a network of smuggling tunnels bringing weapons and supplies in from neighbouring Egypt.