An Israeli official said on Sunday that the IDF would coordinate with Egypt, and seek ways of evacuating most of the displaced people northward, ahead of any ground sweep of the southern city of Rafah.
The United Nations humanitarian office on Friday voiced concern about the hostilities in Khan Yunis that have forced more people to flee to Rafah in the south of Gaza, describing the border town as a "pressure cooker of despair."
"I want to emphasize our deep concern about the escalation of hostilities in Khan Yunis, which has increased the number of internally displaced people seeking refuge in Rafah in recent days," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"Thousands of Palestinians have continued to flee to the south, which is already hosting over half the population of some 2.3 million people...Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next."
Is the IDF preparing to invade Gaza's Rafah?
However, despite the steady flow of reports in recent weeks that the IDF would immediately take action with ground troops in Rafah, The Jerusalem Post has learned that such moves could still take time and significant negotiations.
Multiple sources have said that an IDF move in Rafah is not on the immediate horizon, even as Israel has made some progress in negotiations with Egypt over the issue.
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF targeted a vehicle in what appears to be a specified assassination in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media stated, citing Palestinian reports.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.