The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday criticized the Israeli army's advance on the Gazan city of Rafah.
"I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties - civilian casualties," Borrell said.
He noted that the EU and the United States had urged Israel not to attack Rafah, where many people have fled to from other parts of Gaza.
"In spite of this warning and this request, the attack started yesterday night," Borrell told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday.
"There are 600,000 children in Gaza. They will be pushed to so-called 'safe zones.' There is no safe zone in Gaza," Borrell said.
