United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths warned that the invasion of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, which is crowded with more than 1.5 million Palestinian citizens, would be a “tragedy beyond description.”

He said in a statement, “The truth is that launching a ground operation in Rafah would simply be a tragedy beyond description. No humanitarian plan can reflect this reality, and everything else is just details.”

Griffiths said, "The world has been calling for weeks on the Israeli authorities to spare Rafah from an invasion, but a ground operation is looming on the near horizon."

The UN official added, "For the hundreds of thousands who fled to the far south of the Gaza Strip to escape disease, famine and mass graves, a ground invasion will lead to more trauma and deaths."

“For agencies struggling to provide humanitarian aid despite impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints and Israeli restrictions, a ground invasion would be a catastrophic blow,” Griffiths warned.

He added, "We are in a race to stave off hunger and death, and we are losing."