December 30, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 01,1430

LONDON, Dec 29: Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called for immediate ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza where more than 300 Palestinians have so far been killed in attacks by Israeli fighter planes carrying out sorties continuously for the last three days.

In a statement issued here on Monday the foreign secretary mentioned the ‘rise’ in rocket attacks on Israel “since 19 December” but shied away from saying who and how many were killed in “yesterday’s massive loss of life”.

Mr Miliband has, however, asked Israel to abide by its humanitarian obligations and called for “prompt and sufficient delivery of food, fuel and medicine into the Gaza Strip”.

In an interview to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he also expressed the fear that such attacks would fuel radicalisation.

Mr Miliband said the heart of the current crisis was the issue of whether the Palestinians are represented by Hamas or by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah party rules the West Bank.

Although there were signs that some residents of Gaza were becoming “sick” of Hamas rule, there was “no point in denying the fact that there are plenty of Palestinians who are willing to believe that you have to fight an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, said Mr Miliband.