The Independent’s Bel Trew reporting from Israel-Gaza border
The UK is set to evacuate stranded British citizens from Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Hamas will be “crushed like Isis”.
The UK Foreign Office announced on Thursday that it is arranging flights for British nationals wanting to leave Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister compared the Hamas militant group that staged a ferocious attack on his country over the weekend to the Islamic State group.
Speaking during the US secretary of state’s visit to Israel on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said: "Just as ISIS was crushed, Hamas will be crushed.”
It comes as the Gaza Health Ministry said the rising Palestinian death toll now stands at 1,354, and that another 6,049 others have been wounded since Saturday.
The Israeli government has said there will be no electricity, fuel or water for those in the sealed-off Strip until all its hostages are freed.
The United Nations has warned of an unfolding “humanitarian catastrophe” in the territory, while the Red Cross has pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from “turning into morgues”.
Hundreds of thousands of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops have amassed at the border of the enclave, poised for a ground invasion of Gaza, with an Israeli military spokesman saying on Thursday they “are preparing for a ground maneuver if decided”.
Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel. The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel.
