MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Israeli actions in Rafah result in a humanitarian disaster in the region, Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.

"This is a humanitarian disaster, there are many civilians there now, including women, children - more than 1.5 million people have amassed in the south of the Gaza Strip, in the Rafah area," he told journalists.

Earlier, the office of Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the country's military cabinet unanimously decided to continue the military operation in Rafah to put military pressure on Hamas, facilitate the release of Israeli hostages and achieve other objectives of the war.

On May 6, The Times of Israel reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began evacuating civilians from eastern neighborhoods of Rafah in preparation for a planned military operation. On Tuesday, the IDF took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. The military launched a targeted counter-terrorism operation in the eastern part of Rafah, the Israeli army's press service said.