The United Nations is warning Gaza could run out of fuel and drinking water today, following Israel’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing. Israel is facing mounting global pressure not to launch a broader ground invasion of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned there is no safe place for people in Rafah to go.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “Even the best friends of Israel are clear: An assault on Rafah would be a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare. I appeal to all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to help avert even more tragedy.”

Doctors in Rafah are warning Israel’s seizing of the border crossing and its intensifying attacks on eastern Rafah could lead to thousands of more deaths. Marwan al-Hams is the director of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, which was forced to close and evacuate its patients on Tuesday due to Israeli military operations.

Dr. Marwan al-Hams: “The closure of the Rafah crossing means the death of thousands of patients. Thousands of injured will be martyred. Nutritional resources, medical resources and humanitarian aid won’t enter the Gaza Strip, which means more diseases, more patients needing treatment that isn’t available, more patients with chronic diseases, new diseases we won’t find medication for, and therefore, the number of patients will pile up.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports Israel is planning to hand control of the Rafah border crossing to a private U.S. security company. The paper did not name the firm but said it was made up of veterans of elite U.S. Army units.