Miliband warns over Gaza strikes

Mr Miliband called for an urgent ceasefire

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has warned of a "very dark moment" in the Middle East peace process as Israel continues air strikes on Gaza.

Mr Miliband said events threatened attempts to build a "comprehensive peace" and to fuel radicalism.

Calling for an urgent ceasefire, he said a "terrible price" was being paid for faltering peace negotiations.

There are expectations Israel may launch a ground invasion in Gaza, as it continues a third day of air strikes.

The UN says about 100 rockets or mortars have been fired into Israel following the attacks which began on Saturday.

'Terrible price'

They came less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas - the militant movement which controls Gaza.

Mr Miliband told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was concerned about the impact on the chances for achieving a peace agreement and the danger the raids would radicalise more people.

"I think this is very dangerous and a very dark moment," he said.

Everyone wants both sides to stop David MilibandForeign Secretary Israel strikes key Hamas offices

"We are now paying a terrible price for the slow and faltering pace of negotiations not just over the last year, probably not just over the last 15 years - and it is the fundamental need for a comprehensive settlement that is the only way to resolve this in the interests of the Palestinians or the Israelis."

He said any "innocent loss of life" was "unacceptable" and continued calls for a ceasefire.

He said while some people in Gaza were "sick" of Hamas, there were plenty of Palestinians prepared to believe they had to fight "an eye for an eye".

The authority of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah party controls the West Bank but not the Gaza Strip - had to be reinforced, he added.

'Grave concern'

"Everyone wants both sides to stop and everyone wants those with influence to use that influence to put a stop to this," he said, adding the dangers for both Palestinians and Israelis were "very, very large".

In a Foreign Office statement, Mr Miliband said he and Prime Minister Gordon Brown were "following developments in Gaza with grave concern".

It added that Mr Brown had spoken to Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and the UK had made clear Israel "must abide by its humanitarian obligations".

"The UK supports the prompt and sufficient delivery of food, fuel and medicine into the Gaza Strip."

Hamas says 300 Palestinians have been killed so far and nearly 1,000 injured. Two Israelis have died in militant rocket fire and several injured by missiles fired from Gaza. The UN says 56 of those killed in Gaza were civilians.

Israel says the aim of the strikes is to stop rockets and missiles being launched on the southern part of Israel.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called for an immediate end to Israeli attacks, telling the BBC: "What Israel is doing deserves the strongest condemnation of the international community.

"At the end of the day you don't solve such problems with military means and such large-scale attacks."

But Israel's deputy ambassador in London, Talya Lador-Fresher said security institutions and Hamas had been targeted and most casualties were "people in uniform, Hamas operatives that were busy trying to launch rockets and doing terror attacks against Israeli citizens".

"We show restraint and even now we target the organisation," she added. "They are showing no restraint and are targeting civilians."