Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the “atrocious events in Rafah” have made the world witness to “hundreds of thousands of people trying to avoid lethal attacks by moving frantically” in the “constrained space” of southern Gaza.

“Among the many images from this conflict that will haunt us for a long time is that of desperate people trapped and often killed inside a war zone,” Grandi told the UN Security Council.

“Palestinians should be protected wherever they are, the atrocious dilemma of whether they should exit Gaza — or not — is one that Israel has the clear responsibility to avoid,” Grandi said.

“In this case, there is also — and especially — the international legal obligation of an occupying power not to force — not to force — the civilian population to flee the territory it occupies,” he added.

“Another forced exodus of Palestinians will only create one more intractable problem and make a solution to this decades-long conflict impossible to find,” he added.