(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
The death toll from Israel's offensive in Gaza has risen to more than 570, mostly civilians, following the bloodiest day in the Palestinian enclave since 2009.
The Israeli army says seven more of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, raising Israel's overall death toll to 27.
It comes as world leaders aim to broker a ceasefire in the region.
Zara Zaher reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Pressure is mounting for a halt to two weeks of fighting in Gaza but the violence rages on as an Israeli offensive batters the Palestinian enclave.
Palestinian health officials say an Israeli tank shell hit the third floor of Gaza's Al Aqsa hospital, killing four people and wounding at least 50 others.
It comes after Israeli strikes and shelling of Gaza reportedly killed 30 members of two families.
In Rafah, ten people from one family were killed when a shell from a tank struck as they tried to escape from their house.
Khan Younis resident Hussein Abu Jamea says more than 20 people died when his family's home was bombed.
He is calling for fellow Arabs to help Gazans defend themselves.
(Translated) "They didn't warn us, they didn't call them to leave the house. They didn't tell them to leave the house and didn't tell them to inform the neighbours. 22 people lived in this house. All of them were killed. Only a child who is three years old survived. Where are the Arabs, the Muslims?"
Aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres has called on Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip, saying the shelling is making it difficult to provide much-needed care.
The organisation's medical coordinator in Gaza, Audrey Landmann, says doctors at Gaza hospitals are struggling to cope with the huge influx of patients - most of them civilian.
"I've discussed with doctors and people working in the hospital who were completely desperate because they had children waking up after treatment and asking for their parents and they didn't know how to manage to say to the children that their parents were dead or that their whole family was dead. It's definitely not acceptable in a conflict to have the majority of the casualties coming in the medical facilities being civilians."
Israel's losses have also mounted with the death toll now at 27.
Israel says seven more troops have died including four killed when a group of militants tunnelled across the border from Gaza and fired at their jeep.
Israeli aircraft hit back swiftly, with the army saying it killed ten of the infiltrators from the Islamist group Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited an army base in southern Israel and says operations in the Gaza Strip will continue.
(Translated) "We are preparing here for the continuation. We have a pre-organised plan and we are prepared to do everything needed in the Gaza Strip I'm deeply impressed by the courage of the soldiers, especially in the face of the death of their friends, and immediate willingness to run forward and take their position. This is a badge of honour for the State of Israel and we are proud of them." (Netanyahu ends)
US Secretary of State John Kerry who announced $47 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He joined United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon in Egypt for top level talks over the hostilities.
"The violence must stop. It must stop now. All sides must provide necessary space to aid the victims, assist the wounded and extend the relief to trapped civilians. These immediate steps should open the door to a more prominent ceasefire. Gaza is an open wound, and a bandaid won't help. There must be a plan after the aftermath that allows Gaza to breathe and heal."
US President Barack Obama says the world must focus on a ceasefire in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Mr Obama says the rising number of civilian casualties is deeply concerning.
"As I have said many times, Israel has a right to defend itself against rocket and tunnel attacks from Hamas and as a result of its operations, Israel has already done significant damage to Hamas' terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. I've also said, however, that we have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives, and that is why it now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a ceasefire that ends the fighting and that can stop the deaths of innocent civilians both in Gaza and in Israel."
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