Netanyahu 'to invade Rafah' as 100,000 told to evacuate over fears of bloodbath

Israel is preparing to storm Rafah (Image: Getty)

Israel's Prime Minister rejected Hamas' demand to end the war in Gaza, amid growing fears of an imminent attack on Rafah by the IDF.

Benjamin Netanyahu has come under pressure from his Western allies to refrain from launching a military assault of the city, fearing it would cause an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

Over one million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering in Rafah, as they seek safety from Israel's brutal war with Hamas.

The United Nations has warned an attack on city would drastically worsen the death toll in Gaza, which Palestinian health officials say stands at more than 34,000.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (right) gave the clearest indication yet (Image: Getty)

However, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant gave the clearest indication yet that Netanyahu will press ahead with plans to storm the southern Gaza city.

In an address to soldiers on Sunday, he issued a warning in which he said his government was preparing to launch “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza”.

“We have clear goals for this war: we are committed to the elimination of Hamas and the release of the hostages," he said.

"We have identified alarming signs that Hamas actually does not intend to go for any agreement framework with us. What this means is an operation in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip in the very near future."

There had been hopes of a breakthrough in talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire.

Negotiations, though, stalled over the weekend after Hamas said it would reject any deal that failed to end the war in the Palestinian territory.

Israel claims Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold with some four battalions remaining in the area along with the remnants of other degraded units.

On Monday Israel's Defence Force (IDF) ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate Rafah.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said civilians were being told to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called al-Mawasi.

He added the army was preparing a "limited scope operation", but refused to elaborate on whether this was the beginning of a larger military attack.

The move comes a day after Hamas carried out a lethal rocket attack from the area that killed three Israeli soldiers.