Pressure on Israel rises as Gaza deaths near 20,000

Palestinian fatalities in the Israel-Gaza war neared 20,000 yesterday as IDF forces continued their offensive amid growing international concern about the devastating effects of the conflict.

- Emma Graham-Harrison Julian Borger

The death toll and the grim conditions for nearly 2 million people displaced from their homes with little access to food, clean water or sanitation is fuelling growing international anger, even among Israel’s close allies.

In Rafah in southern Gaza early yesterday, a series of Israeli airstrikes hit three adjacent homes, killing 25 people, according to Palestinian media reports, and a further 10 people were killed in a strike on the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north.

Recent attacks inside a church compound and a school in Gaza – and a raid that shut down one of the last operating hospitals in Gaza City – have also heightened concerns about the protection of civilians. A report about prisoner deaths in Israeli custody in the Haaretz newspaper has raised fresh questions about how Israel is prosecuting its war.

The US appeared increasingly isolated in its steadfast support for a military campaign now entering its 11th week as the UN Security Council was last night weighing up a new resolution calling for the suspension of hostilities to allow for greater flows of humanitarian aid under UN monitoring. The 14 other council members were locked in negotiation with the US on wording that would avoid a repeat US veto.

The UK and Germany – staunch allies of Israel – have added their voices to demands for a reduction in violence by calling at the weekend for a “sustainable ceasefire.

The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, yesterday urged Israel to take a “much more surgical, clinical and targeted approach” in dealing with Hamas.