Rafah is currently home to 1.5 million Palestinians who are facing “catastrophe” if Israel goes ahead with a planned offensive into the city.

That warning came from Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF) Ireland who say Palestinians in Rafah should not be forcibly displaced again.

Israel has said a date has been set to start the invasion of Rafah - as soon as plans are in place to evacuate civilians.

MSF Ireland said most people have been displaced up to nine times in the past six months since the war began.

Evacuation

Their spokesperson Donal Gorman told Newstalk it would be impossible to evacuate so many sick and injured people at this point.

“The MSF teams there have themselves been displaced multiple times and they’re showing up to work every day to provide care to people,” he said.

“Now they’re even training to treat malnutrition and it’s the first time they’ve seen malnutrition in hospitals in southern Gaza.

“Malnutrition was never a factor in Gaza before this brutal war.”

Main image shows destroyed buildings inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, 19-03-2024. Image: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

Mr Gorman also said an offensive into Gaza would be catastrophic.

“An offensive on the city of Rafah will be catastrophic and must not happen,” he said.

“It would be a catastrophe on top of catastrophe with 1.7 million people now displaced forcibly during Israel's assault.

“About 1.5 million people are estimated to be crammed into Rafah which is an area about the size of Galway City.”

An estimated 30,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began on October 7.

Main image: Palestinians look for survivors in the buildings destroyed following an Israeli airstrike, 22/10/2023. Image: AP Image/Alamy