Further civilian casualties are “entirely likely” in Gaza as Israel continues its campaign to destroy Hamas, a government minister has admitted.
Robert Jenrick called on Israel to “surgically” attack the Palestinian militant group amid fears of a humanitarian disaster in the region.
But he conceded that more civilians will probably be killed as the conflict continues.
More than 1,400 Israelis were killed after Hamas launched an assault on the country two weeks ago.
An estimated 4,300 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
Appearing on Sky News this morning, immigration minister Jenrick said: “We have confidence that Israel will take all the steps that it can in the circumstances to avoid civilian lives being lost.
“But the real tragedy here is that Hamas, who started this war by committing those appalling, barbaric atrocities in Israel deliberately enmesh themselves with the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, using innocent Palestinians as hostages to their own political aims.
″And so it is entirely likely that more civilian lives will be lost in this appalling conflict, but we have to defend Israel’s right to secure its borders, to release the hostages and bring a degree of security to its situation.
“What we need Israel to do is to surgically degrade and eradicate Hamas and their unfrastructyre in the Gaza Strip so that Palestinians can be free from Hamas and Israel can have the security that it needs.”