Douglas Alexander MP Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary said:
“Following the deadliest day of the conflict in Gaza so far, I welcome the decision by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to travel to Cairo now to help secure an urgent ceasefire.
“Last week I said that there could be no military solution to this conflict and that a ground operation into Gaza would be counterproductive. Today, as rockets continue to be fired at Israel, and Hamas militants are infiltrating across the border with Gaza, there is little evidence that this incursion is delivering the safety that citizens on both sides deserve.
“An Israeli military operation which results in hundreds of innocent Palestinians being killed has rightly seen growing international scrutiny of Israel’s actions, and the Israeli government must now heed calls by the UN to respect international humanitarian law and human rights.
“The suffering of innocent Palestinians on this scale, in time, risks recruiting more supporters to terrorist groups like Hamas and will not bring Israel lasting security.
“Labour is clear that there is now not only a need for an immediate ceasefire, but also that we oppose this further escalation of the conflict.“