By Athena Papakosta

In the last safe haven for civilians in the Gaza Strip, in its southernmost city, Rafafear reigns supreme.

Israel is determined to launch a ground attack on the most densely populated point on the entire planet, where almost half the population of the Palestinian enclave – more than a million Palestinians – have been displaced by the fighting, still following the orders of the Israeli armed forces.

THE Rafa it was home to 250,000 inhabitants and today hosts 1.5 million people in makeshift, makeshift accommodation, in squalid conditions with little access to food and clean water.

The international community is concerned, warns and pressures Israel not to further expand its military operations in the South. However, as the High Representative of the European Union, Joseph Borel, reports, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not listening to anyone and bursts out emphasizing: “where should these people go? To the moon;”.

Yesterday, Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister congratulated the soldiers who – together with the Shin Bet and the police – carried out the dramatic rescue of two hostages held by Hamas in Rafah. Benjamin Netanyahu described the operation as “perfect”.

In support of the operation to free the two hostages, Israel launched strikes killing at least 67 people, with Hamas later announcing that three hostages were also killed. The Islamist Palestinian organization has not yet released their names.

Israel should stop and think seriously before taking further action in Rafah, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. “It is, indeed, impossible to see how you can wage war among these people. There is nowhere for them to go,” he emphasized.

It has already been preceded by the statement of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in which he characterized Israel’s military action in Gaza as “excessive”, while the White House, through the spokesman for National Security, John Kirby, emphasizes that he does not recommend that Israel proceed in a large-scale operation “without a credible plan for the millions of people who have taken refuge in Rafah” adding that “Israel has an obligation to protect them.”

For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the American network ABC News, on Sunday, repeated that he has ordered the Israeli army to prepare a plan to evacuate Rafah.

To date, four months after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 28,100 Palestinians have lost their lives.

There is terror and panic in Rafa. People are scared and desperate because there is no place to fit them. The homes of those living in the northern, central and southern Gaza Strip in Khan Yunis have already been destroyed by the fighting. Relatives and other loved ones – including children – have been killed while living conditions in Rafa remain unlivable.

Egypt is threatening to suspend the peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops venture into the border town of the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli prime minister, however, insists on characterizing continued military pressure until “total victory” over Hamas as necessary.