PRAGUE

Denmark on Sunday expressed its concern over potential Israeli military action in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Rafah, the last refuge for the displaced in Gaza, is now home to more than 1,400,000 Palestinians, including 1,300,000 displaced people from other governorates, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

Denmark's Foreign Ministry, in a statement on X, said: “Denmark shares the concern of EU and others regarding a potential Israeli military offensive in Rafah where more than half of Gaza’s population is seeking refuge.”

The statement reiterated that “protection of civilians is key.”

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7, Israel ordered residents in northern and central Gaza to evacuate toward the southern part of the enclave, leading to the current overcrowded conditions in the south, especially in Rafah.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier on Friday raised the alarm about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Rafah in the besieged Gaza Strip amid reports of an Israeli military offensive plan, warning that it would have catastrophic consequences.

"Reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah are alarming. It would have catastrophic consequences worsening the already dire humanitarian situation & the unbearable civilian toll," he said on X, adding: "1.4 million Palestinians are currently in Rafah without safe place to go, facing starvation."