Geneva, Switzerland - Israel's looming military push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah could have a dire impact, the Red Cross warned on Wednesday, demanding that "the fundamental principle of humanity" be upheld.

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. A series of Israeli air strikes on the southern Gaza town of Rafah on February 12, 2024 killed 52 people, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry. The strikes hit 14 houses and three mosques in different parts of Rafah, according to the Hamas government. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) cautioned that increased and sustained hostilities in Rafah, where over 1.4 million Palestinians are trapped, posed a "disastrous risk to civilian lives and infrastructure".

Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers have been at war for four months and the threat of a Rafah ground operation has triggered global alarm over the potential for mass civilian casualties.

"We renew our call on the parties to the conflict... to spare and protect civilian lives and infrastructure," Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC's Middle East director, said in a statement.

Belligerents "must ensure the basic necessities of life are provided and the necessary safeguards to preserve life are undertaken for the civilian population," he said.

Hamas's attack last October that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

At least 28,500 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel's response, according to the latest Gaza health ministry figures.

Pointing to indications that "a new phase of the conflict is unfolding", the ICRC insisted that "even amidst the carnage and extreme polarisation, the fundamental principle of humanity must be upheld".

Israel, as the occupying power, bore responsibility under international law for ensuring that the basic needs of the civilian population are met, it said.

The ICRC stressed that "forced displacement" was explicitly banned under international humanitarian law, as was the use of human shields and indiscriminate attacks that cause disproportionate civilian death, injury and destruction.

Any planned evacuations ahead of an incursion, meanwhile, entailed a long list of responsibilities.

"Evacuations have to ensure that civilians arrive safely, and have satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members of the same family are not separated," the ICRC said.

Evacuees "must be able to return to their homes as soon as hostilities have stopped".

In a separate statement, the ICRC said it remained "extremely concerned" about the lives and welfare of the hostages held in Gaza, and reiterated its call for their unconditional release.

Around 130 of an estimated 250 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack are believed to remain in Gaza. Israel says 29 of them are presumed dead.

"Hostage-taking is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law," the ICRC said.

The organisation, which has faced accusations of not doing enough for the hostages, stressed that it "from day one ... has called, publicly and behind closed doors, for the release of all hostages immediately and unconditionally".