Gaza UN shelter attack 'totally unacceptable' - White House

The US has said the shelling of a UN shelter in Gaza is "totally unacceptable and totally indefensible".

In its strongest criticism yet of Israel's offensive in the Palestinian territory, the US - Israel's closest ally - urged Israel to do more to protect civilian life.

A quarter of Gaza's population has been displaced by the fighting, the UN says.

Israel says its operation in Gaza is designed to defend its population from attacks by Palestinian militants.

It blames the Hamas militant group for most of the civilian deaths in Gaza, saying its fighters deliberately operate from civilian areas.

[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][size=1.077em]A senior Israeli official has told the BBC that the army has now "neutralised" 70-80% of Hamas' offensive tunnel network into Israel.[/size][/color]
[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][/size][size=1.077em]Israel says it will not stop its operation in Gaza until all the tunnels - which militants use to infiltrate Israeli territory - have been destroyed.[/size][/color]
[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][/size][size=1.077em]Since Israel began its offensive in Gaza on 8 July, 1,422 Palestinians have been killed and 8,265 injured, most of them civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry.[/size][/color]
[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][/size][size=1.077em]This means more Palestinians have now been killed than during Operation Cast Lead - the last time Israel launched a ground invasion in Gaza - in 2008-09.[/size][/color]
[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][/size][size=1.077em]Fifty-eight Israelis have been killed in total - 56 soldiers and two civilians. A Thai worker in Israel has also died[/size][/color]