The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be intolerable due to its devastating humanitarian consequences and its destabilizing effect in the region.

Guterres called, in a statement to reporters during his meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, for "an additional effort" to reach a ceasefire, according to the Palestinian news and information agency "Wafa."

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, emphasized yesterday that the evacuation order issued by Israel for residents of eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip is "inhumane."

He added that it "contradicts the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law."

Turk warned that "this will only expose them to further danger and misery."

The city of Rafah is considered the last refuge for displaced people in the afflicted region; since the beginning of the ground operation launched by the occupying forces in Gaza last October, Palestinians have been asked to move from the northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip to the south, claiming it to be "safe areas."