Amid the continued fighting in Gaza, the Guardian, Financial Times, Telegraph, Times, Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Independent i, Daily Mirror, Sun, City AM, Evening Standard and Metro all focus heavily on the shelling of a United Nations run school yesterday which killed at least 15 Palestinians, who had sought shelter there from the fighting. All titles include bloody eyewitness accounts of the incident and highlight strong condemnation of the attack from international figures. The Israeli military said that its forces had come under mortar fire from the vicinity of the school. Indeed, the Times notes that rockets and mortars have been fired by Hamas from numerous locations near civilian sites. The Telegraph reports that in the wake of the attack, long-serving United Nations agency spokesman in Gaza, Chris Gunness broke down during a television interview.

The Guardian reports that Israel’s security cabinet yesterday decided to continue the military offensive in Gaza with the goal of destroying the tunnel network constructed by Hamas to launch attacks against Israel. The article also notes efforts in Cairo to advance ceasefire talks.

The Independent reports that Israel’s former-President Shimon Peres yesterday said during a visit to hospitalised Israeli soldiers, that Israel will need to “find a way to stop” Operation Protective Edge. The Financial Times says that anti-war protestors in Israel are finding a diminishing democratic space to assert their views with the bulk of the Israeli public staunchly in favour of the ongoing military campaign in order to restore quiet to daily life in Israel.

The Guardian notes that both Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond yesterday called for an immediate ceasefire. Hammond warned that although Israel is defending itself, its’ military action is “undermining the support … that exists in the west” for its actions.

The Guardian’s Egypt correspondent Patrick Kingsley analyses the deep animosity felt by the Egyptian government towards Hamas, including its closure of the Rafah border crossing and destruction of the tunnel network. He says that Hamas’s decision to continue fighting “owed as much to Egypt’s refusal to lift this blockade as it does to Israel.”

In an editorial, the Daily Mail says that the UK and United States must “make a determined effort to bring the warring factions together” in order to end the fighting in Gaza. Meanwhile, in the Sun, Rod Liddle strongly criticises Western sympathy for Hamas, under the headline “Free Palestine – Destroy Hamas,” arguing that there will be “no peace in Gaza” until Hamas is removed from power.

In the Israeli media, Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Makor Rishon lead with the deaths yesterday of three IDF soldiers from the elite Maglan unit, who were killed when entering a booby-trapped tunnel. Israel Hayom leads with the decision taken yesterday by Israel’s security cabinet to continue the military offensive until the complex network of tunnels constructed by Hamas has been destroyed. Israel Hayom also says that Hamas is coming under increasing pressure from both Israeli forces and the local Gaza population as the intense fighting continues. In Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman broadly concurs, saying, “Hamas is suffering from low morale. They have been hiding the bodies of their troops who were killed, haven’t published their names and have forbidden people from giving interviews so as not to undermine their troops’ morale.”

Haaretz prominently reports that an Israeli delegation yesterday travelled to Cairo to advance moves towards ceasefire talks. Israel Radio news says that the delegation was in Egypt for several hours and that Egypt is adamant it will only receive a Palestinian delegation once Hamas and other factions stop firing.

Meanwhile, in Yediot Ahronot, Yossi Yehoshua reports from the front line having been imbedded with Givati infantry brigade forces. He reports high morale and quotes a brigade commander saying, “We are winning. There isn’t a single place we’ve gone that the terrorists haven’t fled. They fled and it wasn’t difficult to deal with whoever was left behind. They left their equipment and ran.”