Any assault by Israeli forces on the densely populated city of Rafah where 1.5 million have sought shelter following mass displacement, will hugely increase the risk of atrocity crimes, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights warned on Friday.

Spokesperson for Volker Türk in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, told journalists that an already catastrophic situation could 'slide deeper into the abyss' in the coming days if Israeli forces make their move on the southern border city, carrying through with their threat to invade, unless Hamas militants hand over remaining hostages by the start of Ramadan.