500 Gaza dead: PM's ceasefire call (From Herald Series)

500 Gaza dead: PM's ceasefire call

6:05pm Monday 5th January 2009

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More than 510 Gazans have been killed and some 2,500 have been wounded, according to the latest casualty figures. International pressure to secure a ceasefire is growing as the territory teetered on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.

As hostilities continued, aid agencies warned that people in the region were facing "grave" shortages of food and water.

Hundreds of Israeli troops have poured over the border in a ground offensive which has left Gaza City paralysed as it is pounded with artillery. Israeli troops were engaged in fierce battles with Palestinian fighters, with deaths reported on both sides.

Gaza City was wreathed in billowing, black smoke as shells rained down on its beleaguered inhabitants throughout much of the day. Save the Children warned that basic humanitarian supplies are running out with much of the city was left without electricity and water.

The agency called for aid to be let in to the stricken area and said that 50,000 children were already suffering from chronic malnutrition.

More than 2,000 families were displaced prior to the launch of the ground offensive on Saturday with charities expecting the number to increase significantly as fighting escalates.

Politicians led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown united to urge both sides to reach an immediate ceasefire. Mr Brown said it was vital that the international community, including the Arab League, worked together to find a workable solution to the problem.

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "This is a very dangerous moment, I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concern.

"What we've got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire."

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