Civilians must not pay the price”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) also said they were appalled by the deaths of Palestinian women and children. ICRC demanded Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law which prohibits attacks on civilians.

"Civilians must not pay the price of conflict," said Dominik Stillhart, the agency's head of delegation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"Any civilian loss of life further fuels the conflict and generates more loss, suffering and grief."

UNICEF also said it was distressed by what it called the “extraordinary violence” in Gaza.

It said Gaza children where living through a terrifying siege that would have an enduring impact.

John Dugard, the UN special investigator on human rights in the Palestinian territories, also urged the UN Security Council to take action.

Dugard, who is well known for his outspoken position on Gaza, said the quartet of the U.S., EU, UN and Russia, who drafted the so-called “roadmap peace” plan in the Middle East, had done little to halt Israel’s attacks, which he described as a brutal collective punishment of the Palestinians.
The Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights also demanded Israel to halt all military operations in Gaza, saying that more than 60 percent of those killed since late June were civilians and more than 20 percent minors.