News - Middle East: Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over Israel's plans to evacuate over one million displaced Palestinians in Rafah again, warning that the move would be unlawful and would have catastrophic consequences. 

Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, called on the international community to take action to prevent further atrocities.

This development comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army and other officials to submit to the cabinet a plan to evacuate Rafah. Netanyahu said this action is necessary to attack Hamas battalions in the area.

Human Rights Watch clarified that with a pre-war population of 280,000, Rafah is now housing the majority of Gaza’s population, including most of the 1.7 million displaced Palestinians.

The organization emphasized that conditions are increasingly desperate, with people sheltering in makeshift camps—tents built with flimsy materials—and in overcrowded apartment buildings. Many have been displaced multiple times amid intense Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, as well as the continued blockade.

Human Rights Watch reiterated that under international humanitarian law, the forced displacement of civilians is prohibited and may constitute a war crime.

It stressed that even if civilians are warned to evacuate, they still retain full protection under international law, and Israeli forces are obligated to safeguard their well-being.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are concentrated in Rafah and surrounding areas, which are the last refuge for Palestinians in the southern part of the Strip.

It is likely that Rafah will be the next ground target for the occupation forces (based on statements to the media by the head of the occupation government and its war council).

The Israeli army advanced southward toward the border city over the past weekend, warning that its ground forces may enter the city, putting Palestinians in the category of displacement.