The UN says “everything possible” must be done to avoid an Israeli attack on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, which it says could lead to a “large scale” loss of life, according to Al Jazeera.

“We can warn what might unfold with the ground invasion, and we can make clear what the law says,” the UN humanitarian office warned.

“Under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a briefing in Geneva.

“So to be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that.”