Israel-Gaza: 'We have to ask the harder questions'

There is a bigger context to the current hostilities between Israel and Gaza, the political analyst and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, Nour Odeh, has said.

She told BBC World News: "We have to look at the wider picture. We cannot just say that Hamas needs to stop firing rockets. We have to ask the harder questions. Why is Israel continuing to lay siege to Gaza?

"Why is Israel allowed to get away with violating international law and international humanitarian law? It is the occupying power. It is causing immense suffering to the civilian population it is obliged to protect."

Some 122 people have been killed in Gaza and eight have died in Israel since fighting began on Monday.