Emmanuel Macron warns Netanyahu that any “forced population transfer” would constitute a “war crime” The United States is calling on its ally to abandon a ground offensive on Rafah, where according to the UN there are nearly a million and a half Palestinians, most of them displaced. The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel which left at least 1,160 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count.