High commissioner for human rights says reports of civilians killed in strikes on homes raise doubt over legality of action

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Israel's air campaign in Gaza may violate international laws prohibiting the targeting of civilians, the UN's top human rights official has said as the death toll of Palestinians rose to more than 100.

As international pressure continued to build on Israel to end its four-day conflict with Hamas and Palestinian militant groups in the enclave, Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the Israeli military must abide by international law.

"We have received deeply disturbing reports that many of the civilian casualties, including of children, occurred as a result of strikes on homes," Pillay said. "Such reports raise serious doubt about whether the Israeli strikes have been in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law."

A Gaza health ministry spokesman said two Palestinians had been killed and three injured in an Israeli air strike on Friday that brought the death toll to 100.

Rocket fire continued at Israeli cities, which have so far avoided deaths, and Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said on Friday it intended to hit Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion international airport, warning airlines not to fly to it.

A rocket also caused the first serious Israeli casualty – one of eight people hurt when a fuel tanker was hit at a service station in Ashdod, 20 miles north of Gaza.

The White House said late on Thursday that Barack Obama had phoned the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to offer to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"The United States remains prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, including a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement," the White House said.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said a ceasefire was "more urgent than ever" after an emergency security council meeting on Thursday. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has also urged Netanyahu to consider a ceasefire.

Riyad Mansour, Palestine's ambassador to the UN, said: "We call on the security council to act immediately to protect civilian lives, which are being lost and destroyed with each passing minute."

But in a televised statement on Thursday, Netanyahu seemed to indicate that Israeli's military action in Gaza – named Operation Protective Edge – was far from over.

"So far the battle is progressing as planned, but we can expect further stages in future. Up to now, we have hit Hamas and the terror organisations hard and as the battle continues we will increase strikes at them," he said.

Israel has called up about 20,000 reserve troops, and while there is still no indication of whether it will launch a ground offensive, shelling and air strikes continued on Friday.

Overnight six Palestinians were killed in two strikes, including one on the home of an Islamic Jihad militant in Rafah, medical sources said.

Witnesses told AFP the militant, Abdel Razzaq al-Ghannam, was not home when the attack took place, but five people, including a woman and a seven-year-old child, were killed. It followed an air strike on a house in Gaza City that killed 33-year-old Anas Abu al-Kass, who was described by Palestinian officials as a doctor and pharmacist.

Medical officials in Gaza said at least 74 civilians, including 23 children, were among those killed since Tuesday.

Despite the barrage of rockets targeting Israeli cities including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – causing thousands to rush to bomb shelters for the first time in years – there have been no Israeli deaths since the beginning of this latest conflict.

The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that 548 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, including one from Lebanon on Friday morning that landed near Galilee.

On Friday morning, air raid sirens also rang out again in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial capital, and three loud explosions were heard as Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system shot down rockets over the city for a third day running.

"Three rockets were launched at central Tel Aviv. All three were intercepted over the Tel Aviv metropolitan area," an Israeli army statement said.

In Jerusalem, Israeli police deployed extra units in the Old City to deal with potential unrest after Friday prayers, according to a police spokesman. Access to al-Aqsa mosque will again be restricted to women and men over 50.

Last week, there were riots in Shuafat, East Jerusalem, following the murder of 17-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was abducted from outside his home and then killed. A Shuafat resident told the Guardian on Thursday that as many as 60 members of Israel Defence Forces had been stationed in the neighbourhood for more than a week.