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Dozens of UK charities have urged MPs to support a ceasefire in Gaza, before a motion in parliament on Wednesday.
The motion tabled by the Scottish National Party is its second to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
It comes as the Israeli military is threatening to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, the last place of refuge in Gaza where more than half of its 2.3 million population is sheltering.
Amnesty International, Save the Children and Care International are among the 55 organisations to have signed an open letter calling on MPs to support the motion.
“We, along with 71 per cent of the UK public, urge you to support the motion for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to benefit everyone in Israel and Palestine,” the letter said.
The immediate ceasefire was needed to enable “the provision of adequate humanitarian assistance, and the release of hostages, and curtail the risk of regional conflict amid multiple strikes in several countries", it said.
Two British-Jewish organisations, including the Jewish Network for Palestinians, which is supported by Israeli historians Avi Shlaim and Ilan Pappe, and the campaign group Na’amod, are among its signatories.
The death toll and destruction in Gaza was “unfathomable”, the letter said, with almost 30,000 people killed and 11,500 of them children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
Latest from the Israel-Gaza war - in pictures
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Displaced Palestinians hold a white flag as they pass an Israeli tank position while fleeing the Hamad Town district of Khan Younis. Bloomberg -
A Palestinian woman cuts material to be used for sewing nappies at a workshop in Rafah. AFP -
Smoke rises following an explosion in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel. AP -
Parachutes carrying relief for Palestinians drop from an Egyptian Air Force cargo plane over central Gaza. Bloomberg -
A Palestinian boy who is suffering from malnutrition is treated at a healthcare centre amid widespread hunger. Reuters -
Palestinian children attend an English class in the library of the school housing displaced people in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
An UNRWA-run school housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah. AFP -
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Rafah. AP -
A wounded Palestinian man who lost his wife and daughter walks past a neighbours' house destroyed by Israeli bombing in Rafah. AFP -
An injured man is rescued from the rubble after an Israeli air strike on the Rafah camp in Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of houses destroyed by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza city. AFP -
Aid is dropped into Gaza from US military aircraft. Reuters -
Palestinians gather at air lorries in Gaza. More than 100 were killed when Israeli troops opened fire. AP -
The sun sets behind destroyed buildings in Gaza. AFP -
A Palestinian man enters a heavily damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
A wounded Palestinian is assisted at the site of an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Palestinians gather in the hope of getting bags of flour carried by air lorries near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza city, as the enclave's residents face crisis levels of hunger. Reuters -
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues in Gaza. Reuters -
A displaced Palestinian child holds a crying baby in a camp in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters
Many of the signatories, including Action Against Hunger, have teams operating in Gaza and the West Bank, and receive first-hand accounts from their staff of the situation there.
Palestinians in Gaza are living in dire conditions, with children at risk of starvation and surgeons operating without anaesthetic, the letter said, telling MPs they “cannot afford to delay any longer".
The letter warned that the humanitarian crisis was “likely to surpass even the horrors we have seen over the last four months".
The UK government must hold Israel accountable for events in Gaza and the West Bank, the letter said.
“Private diplomacy and cautious statements are not enough. Stronger action and accountability needs to be applied,” it said.
The UK government has previously called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, adding that this can only be achieved when Hamas no longer controls the territory and the hostages are released.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron has also pressed for immediate humanitarian “pauses” in Gaza, to allow aid to get through.
UK Foreign Secretary calls for sustainable future in region, without militias - video
The UK launched a $50 million co-funding partnership with Qatar to tackle humanitarian crises around the world, including Gaza, its development minister Andrew Mitchell said on Monday.
But access to aid will not be possible without an end to the war, the letter states.
“This is not possible under bombardment. We need a lasting ceasefire, not ‘pauses’,” it said.
A lasting ceasefire was needed for humanitarian organisations to re-establish their work, and to prevent the loss of life.
“It is imperative that the UK government takes immediate action to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire, for which there is growing international consensus,” the letter said.
