Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the human right situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, said such a scenario was not implausible if Israel continues its slaughter over the coming years, Al Jazeera reports.

Referencing the work of a professor of public health at Edinburgh University in Scotland, Albanese said, “The range of presumable direct and indirect deaths could be between 15 and 20 [per cent] of the population already by the end of this year”.

“I am starting to think with horror that if it’s not stopped, Israel’s assault could end up exterminating almost the entire population in Gaza over the next couple of years,” Albanese wrote in a post on social media.

“Once the dust settles, I can’t imagine how the world will go on after having allowed that. Again,” she said.