The Israeli ambassador to Ireland has defended its offensive in Gaza, which has seen nearly 1,300 Palestinians killed in three weeks of fighting.
It comes as thousands more Israeli troops are to join the fight in Gaza, with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising to destroy Hamas tunnels "with or without a ceasefire".
Some 16,000 additional troops are joining the operation in Gaza "to allow troops on the ground to rest", said an army spokeswoman. The boost takes the number reservists involved to 86,000.
Israel has ordered its ground forces to locate and destroy a warren of cross-border tunnels that Hamas has used to menace southern towns and army bases.
Israeli shelling in Gaza overnight | Image: @ChrisGunness via Twitter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting he was determined to finish the job "with or without a ceasefire".
He said "I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security". The army said 32 secret passages had been found so far and half of them blown up, with the end of the operation apparently just days away.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has put the Palestinian death toll at almost 1,300 - but Gaza officials say it is more than 1,360.
Civilians make up two-thirds of the dead and most of the wounded.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed on Wednesday by a booby trap detonated as they uncovered a tunnel shaft, the army said. The Israeli military said it would also continue to target Hamas and the aerial bombardment of Gaza City continued on Thursday.
Condemnation also continues over Wednesday's shelling of a market and a UN-run school housing more than 3,000 refugees, in a day when 116 Palestinians were killed.
The Israeli ambassador to Ireland Boaz Modai told Newstalk Lunchtime that their actions in Gaza are proportionate.
Hamas' military leader Mohammed Deif has said the militants will not cease firing until their demands are met. The group wants Israel and Egypt to lift a border blockade they imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized the territory in 2007.
Seanad meets over crisis
Meanwhile the Seanad has met to discuss the situation in Gaza. Senators have been recalled from their summer recess to debate the crisis and the Irish response to it.
The Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan says Ireland abstained from voting to set up a human rights inquiry in Gaza because agreement could not be reached by European Union (EU) members.
Minister Charlie Flanagan in the Seanad
It was adopted with 29 votes in favour and 17 abstentions. Ireland was one of those who abstained from voting. Only the United States voted against.
Mr Flanagan said the decision was only taken after prolonged deliberations and would have weakened EU leverage.
Amid some heckling from fellow Senator David Norris, Mr Flanagan said Ireland wants to see the violence stop.
It is the second year in a row that the Seanad has been recalled from its summer break to discuss a major issue of the day.
Last year senators returned to consider overturning Ireland's laws on organ donation - and while the law did not change, supporters say it led to 20 new organ donation staff being recruited.
It is doubtful that the sitting today could result in any material developments - there are no motions up for debate, and no votes will take place.
"Today the world stands disgraced"
It is also believed that a Palestinian baby who was born after her mother was killed in an attack on Gaza has now died.
The baby was born in an emergency Caesarean section after an Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed her mother (23), who was eight months pregnant.
But the girl - named Shimah after her mother - died on Tuesday in hospital.
The United Nations' 80 camps are meant to be safe zones for the estimated 245,000 people who have fled their homes. Furious UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the school shelling "outrageous" and "unjustifiable".
"Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children" said the UN chief.
Yesterday, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Pierre Krähenbühl said "children were killed as they slept next to their parents on the floor of a classroom in a UN designated shelter in Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced".
A carefully-worded White House statement said it "condemned the shelling" - which killed at least 16 - but did not mention Israel explicitly.
The Pentagon later confirmed it had agreed to an "emergency" Israeli request to stock up on grenades and mortar rounds from a store it has kept in the country for several years.
Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby said the request was received on July 20 and approved three days later, without needing White House approval.
Palestinian families take shelter at an UNRWA school in Gaza City | Image: Shareef Sarhan/UNRWA Archives
Israel, meanwhile, has said it is investigating the school shelling incident and repeated it does not have a policy of targeting civilians.
Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor described the incident as "tragic" but blamed Hamas' "criminal entrenchment within civilian populations".
56 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in total on the Israeli side since the violence began at the start of July.
Christopher Gunnes is a spokesperson for the UNRWA in Gaza. He told Newstalk Breakfast earlier both the UN agency - and Gaza - are at breaking point.
Originally published 06:26
