GENEVA — An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk and be a huge blow to the aid operations of the entire enclave, the UN humanitarian office said on May 3, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced contingency plans for an incursion.

Israel has repeatedly warned of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where around a million displaced people are crowded together, having fled months of Israeli bombardment triggered by Hamas fighters' deadly cross-border attack on Oct 7.

"It could be a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip because it is run primarily out of Rafah," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), at a Geneva press briefing.

Israel has said it will work to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from Rafah.

Aid operations in Rafah include medical clinics, warehouses stocked with humanitarian supplies, food distribution points and 50 centres for acutely malnourished children, Laerke said.

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