Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to launch an offensive on Rafah, despite ongoing truce talks in Cairo.

Netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with the assault "with or without a deal." The text highlights the international concern over the potential Israeli army incursion into Rafah, a city in the southernmost part of Gaza.

The concern is that such an operation would result in massive civilian casualties and cause further trauma and death for the hundreds of thousands of people who have already fled to the area to escape disease, famine, mass graves, and direct fighting.

The humanitarian agencies are also struggling to provide aid due to active hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints, and Israeli restrictions.

The UN's Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov (Griffiths), has appealed to Israeli authorities to spare Rafah, but a ground invasion seems imminent.

The text describes the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began after Hamas's attack on southern Israel in October 2021.

The attack resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

In response, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Palestinian militants took over 250 hostages during the attack, and Israel estimates that around 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are believed to be dead.

The text conveys a sense of urgency and despair, with the author stating that the world is losing the race to prevent hunger and death in Gaza.