GENEVA, May 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A full-scale Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city 
of Rafah "cannot take place", the UN human rights chief insisted Sunday, saying it could not 
be reconciled with international law.
All eyes have been on Rafah in recent weeks, where the population had swelled to around 1.5 
million after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled fighting in other areas of the Gaza 
Strip.
The Israeli military on Saturday expanded an evacuation order for eastern Rafah and said 
300,000 Palestinians had left the area.
"The latest evacuation orders affect close to a million people in Rafah. So where should they go 
now? There is no safe place in Gaza!" Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human 
rights, said in a statement.
"These exhausted, famished people, many of whom have been displaced many times already, 
have no good options.
He said a full-scale offensive could have a "catastrophic impact... including the possibility of 
further atrocity crimes."
"I can see no way that the latest evacuation orders, much less a full assault, in an area with an 
extremely dense presence of civilians, can be reconciled with the binding requirements of 
international humanitarian law and with the two sets of binding provisional measures ordered 
by the International Court of Justice."
Volker said he was deeply distressed by fast-deteriorating conditions in Gaza, saying the latest 
evacuation orders had triggered "massive displacement of an already profoundly traumatised 
population".
He said the towns supposed to receive those displaced from Rafah had already been "reduced 
to rubble".
Turk also voiced concern at reports of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza.
He said a full scale offensive on Rafah "cannot take place" and called on all states with 
influence to do everything in their power to prevent it.
He also called on Israel and Palestinian armed groups to agree a ceasefire, and for all hostages 
to be released immediately.
Gaza's bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel 
that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP 
tally of Israeli official figures.
During their attack, militants also seized hostages. Israel estimates 128 captives remain in Gaza 
including 36 who the military says are dead.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has conducted a retaliatory offensive that has killed nearly 
35,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's 
health ministry.