GAZA CITY

The government media office in Gaza on Saturday warned of a “global massacre” if Israel invades Rafah Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip, the last refuge for displaced people in the enclave.

In a statement, the office said: “We warn of a global catastrophe and massacre that may leave tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded if Rafah Governorate is invaded.”

The statement held "the American administration, the international community, and the Israeli occupation fully responsible.”

“The Israeli occupation media reported on the intention and threats of the occupation army to attack and invade Rafah Governorate, which is home to more than 1,400,000 Palestinian citizens, including 1,300,000 displaced people from other governorates,” the office said, adding that an invasion of Rafah “could leave tens of thousands dead and wounded.”

The office also warned that the invasion “may occur at any time in conjunction with Israel committing thousands of massacres in the governorates of the Gaza Strip over the course of its genocidal war.”

It also called on “the UN Security Council to convene immediately and urgently and take a decision ensuring that the Israeli occupation is obligated to stop the genocidal war it is committing against civilians, children, and women in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli army is preparing a ground military operation in heavily-populated Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid plans to evacuate residents before the launch, Israeli media reports said Friday.

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7, Israel ordered residents in northern and central Gaza to evacuate toward the southern part of the enclave, leading to the current overcrowded conditions in the south, especially in Rafah.

Israel continues its onslaught on Gaza where at least 27,947 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 67,459 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel has pounded Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi