For several days, dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed following blind Israeli bombings against the civil population.

"This war must stop now," said Gabi Zimmer, President of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament. "The international community must react and we are expecting Mrs Ashton to speak to the Parliament next week, as we have asked, about the risk of an escalation of this violence throughout the whole region."

"The targeted assassination of Hamas's military chief by Israel is tantamount to a provocation which is re-igniting tensions. This operation, on the eve of the next elections, will weigh heavily on the increasing unrest in the region. This will have terrible consequences for both the Palestinian and the Israeli people. The international community's silence is enabling Mr Netanyahu to continue to defy international law and to bomb women, men and children in the Gaza Strip," she said.

"The GUE/NGL reiterates its solidarity with the Palestinian people in the search for a two-state solution to this ongoing and bloody conflict," Ms Zimmer concluded.