Further to the article ‘Gaza civilians flee following bitter warning’ (July 14), I would count myself among those who accept that Israel has a right to defend itself from incoming Hamas rockets. Nevertheless, I am shocked and appalled at Israel’s disregard for civilian casualties.

For instance, on Saturday, Israeli forces targeted a home for the severely disabled. How can a civilised nation ever consider this a legitimate target, even if it were indeed used to harbour Hamas personnel?

Israel has a right to self-defence under international law. However, international law also imposes “an absolute prohibition on the targeting of civilians”, as underscored by the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the case of Blaskic (IT-95-14-A, para. 109). This notwithstanding, the death toll in the current Israeli offensive has reached over 170, most of whom are civilians, including children, and is likely to continue to rise. I struggle to understand how the killing of children could contribute to self-defence.