Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip have passed 1,000, medical sources in Gaza say, as diplomatic efforts continue to reach a ceasefire.
Nearly a third of the dead are reported to be children and nearly 5,000 people have been injured.
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Claims have been received by the BBC and an Israeli human rights group that Israeli troops have fired on Gaza residents trying to escape the conflict area. Israel has strongly denied the allegations.
BBC journalists in Gaza and Israel have compiled detailed accounts of the claims.
Some Palestinian civilians in Gaza say Israeli forces shot at them as they tried to leave their homes - in some cases bearing white flags.
One testimony heard by the BBC and human rights group B'tselem describes Israeli forces shooting a woman in the head after she stepped out of her house carrying a piece of white cloth, in response to an Israeli loudhailer announcement.
The Israeli military has dismissed the report as "without foundation".
The BBC has spoken to members of another family who say they are trapped in their home by fighting and have been shot at when they tried to leave to replenish dwindling water and food supplies, even during the three-hour humanitarian lull.
Israel is denying access to Gaza for international journalists and human rights monitors, so it is not possible to verify the accounts.
B'tselem said it had been unable to corroborate the testimony it had received, but felt it should be made public.
Both articles excerpted from BBC.co.uk.
That about sums it up. I asked two weeks ago at the beginning of the ivasion at what point the Palestinian death toll would outstrip Israel's justifications to prosecute a war in Gaza. So far we have no answer. 1000 Palestinians have died. Somewhere around 300 of those are children and some 500-600 are civilians. So I really wonder at what price to Palestinians Israel is willing to contibute the campaign. Hamas will fight to the end, they are plain and simple terrorists, so it is pretty obvious that they have little interest in stopping and exhibit little care for civilians. But what of Israel? It is a supposed to be a civilized, democratic, developed state. But so far it seems to be behaving with the same depraved indifference as its enemies. And that is what is really sad. Is the fight worth it if a state has to lower itself to the point of becoming a terrorist, to committing war crimes, and killing hundreds of children in order crush its enemies?
We all know Hamas is a terrorist organization. But how many civilian deaths have to occur as a direct result of Israel's counterinsurgency tactics before Israel becomes a terrorist state?
As a last note, everyone should always be suspicious when a government bans foreign journalists from reporting from the war zone. Journalists know the risks, so it is not really about their safety. At least from what I have read governments make those decisions when they are doing something untoward....or really bad.
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