Israel needs to comply with international humanitarian law following deaths of aid workers

But as the death toll of ordinary Gazans rises into the tens of thousands, this war has gone on long enough and proven deadly for innocent civilians.

And the deaths of seven aid workers, killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza, shows the need for an immediate end to the violence and bloodshed in the region.

As Lord Peter Ricketts, a former national security adviser, says, the killing of the aid workers has sparked “global outrage”.

The aid workers, amongst whom were three British casualties, represented the best of humanity, getting help to victims of a vicious war.

One of the British nationals killed was James Kirby, who used to serve in the British Armed Forces - undertaking tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

The fact that a spokesman for the Israeli government refused to initially apologise for the deaths, severely undermines its position.

Britain cannot be supine in the face of British deaths. As Lord Ricketts points out, “a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law”.

Lord David Cameron has a difficult task ahead of him but he must press the Israeli government hard for a ceasefire and for borders to be opened up to allow aid in. More importantly, he needs to secure guarantees from the Israeli leadership that aid workers will be allowed to go about their work unhindered and free of harm.

Without the goodwill of aid workers, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza would multiply in scale.

Sstatecraft and political leadership will be key to ending the violence and bloodshed.