Saudi Arabia has warned Israel that a planned invasion of the city of Rafah may cause an imminent humanitarian disaster.

The oil-rich nation’s foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire to the conflict as Israel is poised to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, which borders Egypt at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. More than half of Gaza’s estimated 2.3 million population is now packed into the city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate the population city ahead of a ground invasion to destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there. 

Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Sean Gallup/Getty Images, left, Sergei Savostyanov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, right)

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital and main financial hub.

Saudi Arabia has told the U.S. it will not open diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Riyadh reiterated its call for permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that have not recognized a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital to do so, a ministry statement said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

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