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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| UK offers emergency aid to Gaza | UK offers emergency aid to Gaza |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The UK has pledged nearly £7m in emergency aid to Gaza as international calls continue for a ceasefire in the conflict, now into its fifth day. | The UK has pledged nearly £7m in emergency aid to Gaza as international calls continue for a ceasefire in the conflict, now into its fifth day. |
| Government minister Douglas Alexander said food, fuel and medicine supplies were "desperately needed" and aid agencies must have unrestricted access. | Government minister Douglas Alexander said food, fuel and medicine supplies were "desperately needed" and aid agencies must have unrestricted access. |
| Four days of Israeli air strikes have left hundreds dead, and rocket attacks from Gaza have killed several Israelis. | Four days of Israeli air strikes have left hundreds dead, and rocket attacks from Gaza have killed several Israelis. |
| Israel has rejected calls for a 48-hour halt to its military action. | |
| A government spokesman said Israel would maintain dialogue with the international community but ruled out an end to its actions while it continued to come under attack itself from militants in Gaza. | |
| A 48-hour truce to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza was initially proposed by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner. | |
| EU foreign ministers called for an immediate ceasefire on Tuesday after four days of rocket attacks and retaliatory air strikes left more than 370 Palestinians and four Israelis dead. | |
| 'Human suffering' | 'Human suffering' |
| Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is meeting his cabinet on Wednesday to consider future steps. | |
| Israel has previously said it is ready for "long weeks of action" to stamp out rocket attacks from Gaza, prompting speculation of a possible ground offensive there. | |
| Both EU and UN have called for an end to the violence while the US has said the onus is on Hamas, the militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, to commit to a truce. | Both EU and UN have called for an end to the violence while the US has said the onus is on Hamas, the militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, to commit to a truce. |
| The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the day Douglas Alexander | The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the day Douglas Alexander |
| Announcing the £6.9m ($10m) pledge of emergency aid, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was fast deteriorating. | Announcing the £6.9m ($10m) pledge of emergency aid, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was fast deteriorating. |
| "We are keen to get aid into Gaza because that aid is desperately needed," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | "We are keen to get aid into Gaza because that aid is desperately needed," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme. |
| "The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the day." | "The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the day." |
| Mr Alexander said the UK was urging the Israeli authorities to give aid agencies "unfettered access" to Gaza to help those in need. | Mr Alexander said the UK was urging the Israeli authorities to give aid agencies "unfettered access" to Gaza to help those in need. |
| "We want to see a greater level of access because the level of human suffering behind the conflict is growing daily," he said. | "We want to see a greater level of access because the level of human suffering behind the conflict is growing daily," he said. |
| Mr Alexander reiterated calls for a permanent ceasefire and said the UK was "highly engaged", along with the US and its Middle East partners, in trying to bring the conflict to an end. | Mr Alexander reiterated calls for a permanent ceasefire and said the UK was "highly engaged", along with the US and its Middle East partners, in trying to bring the conflict to an end. |
| 'Ineffective' | |
| However, UK and EU efforts to mediate a ceasefire have been attacked as ineffective. | |
| The Liberal Democrats said EU leaders needed to "ratchet up" the diplomatic pressure on both Israel and Hamas to end the bloodshed. | |
| "Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza will have to be backed up with real pressure if they are going to have any effect," said Ed Davey, the party's foreign affairs spokesman. Further protests against Israeli actions are due on Saturday | |
| He said the current situation risked "echoing the mistakes of the 2006 Lebanon war" in which more than 1,120 Lebanese and 150 Israelis died during a month-long conflict. | |
| Meanwhile, a coalition of 20 Muslim and non-Muslim groups has said it will hold a demonstration in London on Saturday against what it calls Israel's "barbaric attacks". | |
| Seventeen people were arrested during protests outside the Israeli Embassy in London on Sunday and Monday. | |
| Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak has promised a "war to the bitter end" to defeat Hamas, saying its attacks on Israeli territory present a fundamental threat to the nation's security. | |
| The strikes began days after a six-month ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas expired. | The strikes began days after a six-month ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas expired. |