THE UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres struck once more psound the alarm about the possibility of an attack of the Israeli army in Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, stressing that it would amount to “impermissible escalation”.

“A military attack on Rafah would constitute an unacceptable escalation, cause the deaths of thousands more civilians and force hundreds of thousands to flee,” said the Guterres to journalists, appealing to the Israeli authorities not to implement their plan.

The UN Secretary General added that such an attack would have a “devastating impact on the Palestinians of Gaza and serious effects on the occupied West Bank, but also in the wider region”.

“All members of the Security Council and many other states have clearly expressed their opposition to such a (military) operation. I call on those who have influence in Israel to do everything to prevent it.”he added.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that his army would enter Rafah regardless of whether a temporary ceasefire agreement is reached in the Gaza Strip. Rafah is considered by the Israeli military to be the last stronghold of Hamas in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“The thought that we will stop the war before achieving all our goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and eliminate all Hamas brigades, with or without a (ceasefire) agreement, in order to achieve total dominance,” Netanyahu told relatives of hostages in Jerusalem.

A short distance from the Egyptian border, Rafah is home to nearly one and a half million Palestinians who fled their homes to escape Israeli bombardment after the outbreak of war triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7.

The UN secretary-general also expressed deep concern over the discovery of mass graves in the Gaza Strip’s two largest hospitals and called on Israeli authorities to allow an independent investigation.