Famine looms in Gaza and strikes kill at least 30 Palestinians, but EU states remain divided over how to tackle Israel.

The Israeli military said it intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area, but that a malfunction had caused the missile to fall "dozens of metres from the target."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that the proposed “humanitarian city” in Gaza would amount to a concentration camp and risk ethnic cleansing. The plan, pushed by Defence Minister Israel Katz, has sparked fierce criticism and threatens to derail Israel-Hamas truce efforts.

Dr Marwan Sultan was killed along with several family members in a strike on his home, the health ministry says.

At least 54 Palestinians, including children and people fetching water, were killed Sunday in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting residential areas and displacement tents across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.