JEREMY Corbyn has branded the response to the deaths in Gaza by the UK and other Governments as “wholly inadequate” as the region braces itself for more violence.

Tensions remained high as the funerals were being prepared for the 58 people killed on Monday when Israeli troops opened fire during Palestinian protests.

The burials coincide with the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians term the Nakba; a mass displacement of Palestinians after Israel's creation.

At Westminster ahead of an emergency Commons debate, the Labour leader hit out, insisting that action was needed “to hold those responsible to account” and that the West could “not turn a blind eye to such wanton disregard for international law”.

In the Commons, ministers insisted there was “not a binary choice” about where blame lay for the deaths in Gaza.

Boris Johnson told MPs he was saddened by the loss of life but noted how peaceful protests had been "exploited by extremists".

The Foreign Secretary also urged Israel to "show restraint" in the use of live fire.

Stephen Gethins for the SNP denounced President Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem as "reckless", "irresponsible" and had "stoked tension". The Fife MP asked the Government if it agreed that there should now be an impartial and independent investigation.

Alistair Burt, the Middle East Minister, said it did, explaining: "The United Kingdom supports an independent investigation into what has happened and, I repeat, the move of the United States embassy yesterday was not supported by the United Kingdom; we do not see that as being conducive at present in the region to the peace, and the timing of course was incredibly difficult."

Earlier, UK ministers discussed the situation in Gaza at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet where Theresa May urged both sides to "show restraint and refrain from any further violence".

Shortly afterwards, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said the Government was "extremely concerned" by the scale of the violence, describing the loss of life and injuries to the Palestinians as "tragic".

In his statement, Mr Corbyn described the deaths in Gaza as a “slaughter,” which had followed weeks of killings of Palestinian civilians demonstrating for their right to return, most of whom were refugees.

“Coming on the day President Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, it underlines the threat to peace posed by the continuing and intolerable injustices faced by the Palestinian people,” declared the Labour leader.

He went on: "The response from many western governments to this flagrant illegality, including our own – which bears a particular responsibility for a peaceful and just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict – has been wholly inadequate.

“They should take a lead from Israeli peace and justice campaigners: to demand an end to the multiple abuses of human and political rights Palestinians face on a daily basis, the 11-year siege of Gaza, the continuing 50-year occupation of Palestinian territory and the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements.”

Mr Corbyn, who insisted Labour was committed to reviewing UK arms sales to Israel while such “violations” continued, added: "The international community must at last put its collective authority and weight behind achieving a lasting settlement that delivers peace, justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, who have waited so long to achieve their rights."

In the Commons chamber, Labour was granted an Urgent Question on Gaza, during which Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, argued that the “horrific massacre” on the Gaza border were not an accidental over-reaction to one day’s protest but the result of a culmination over six weeks in an “apparently calculated and deliberate policy to kill and main unarmed protesters, who posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border”.

She went on: "Many of them shot in the back. Many of them shot hundreds of metres from the border, and many of them children.

"And if we are in any doubt about the lethal intent of the Israeli snipers working on the border, I'm afraid we only need to look at the wounds suffered by their victims.”

Ms Thornberry explained how, on hunting websites in America, the use of 7.6mm bullets was preferred by some people because they were “designed to mushroom and fragment, to do maximum internal damage to the animal”.

It was allegedly this ammunition, she noted, that was “used in Gaza yesterday against men, women and children".

Mr Burt, who described the deaths in Gaza as “tragic,” said there was "an element missing" in Ms Thornberry's response, saying: "That is not to mention at all any possible, complicit involvement of Hamas with the events.”

He told MPs: "In all fairness, if we are to look at the circumstances of this, we need to take that into account. It is very easy and very tempting to take one side or the other and if any of us have made statements about this in the last 24 hours, it's very clear the views out there are completely binary.

"There is no acceptance of those who support the state of Israel of an understanding of the circumstances of Gaza, and there is no understanding of those who support the Palestinian cause of any circumstances that might affect Israel or the impact should the border be breached and there should be attacks on the Israeli side of the border.”

Britain, he suggested, would not get into such an argument but, rather, stressed how there needed to be a political situation and that unless the voices for peace were not heard the position in the Middle East would not be resolved.

Caroline Lucas for the Greens raised the number of arms export licences granted by the UK Government to firms for sale to the “criminal Israeli Government” and called for the end to the arms trade.

Mr Burt responded by saying the UK operated a very strict arms sales regime and noted how there was legitimate use of arms by countries seeking to defend itself.

Labour’s Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said the “abhorrent massacre” in Gaza was a “fire fuelled by a narcissistic American President who is content to watch the world burn”.

The London MP explained how she would be among the protesters for Donald Trump’s planned UK visit on July 13 and implored the Government, in light of the events in Gaza, to cancel it.

Mr Burt said it was not the Government’s view to engage with any country, not least an ally like the US, in the way the Labour backbencher had suggested, explaining: “Engagement, explanation and working together is the best way to deal with the concerns we have on areas where we differ on policy.”

His Tory colleague Ross Thomson, who represents Aberdeen South, expressed concern Hamas was using civilians as “cover” and actively encouraging them to become martyrs.

Philippa Whitford, who has worked as a surgeon in Gaza, pointed out how she was one of the few MPs who knew what live ammunition did to a human body.

She pointed out most injured people were nowhere near the fence in Gaza. “We have over 200 children injured, 17 medics injured; they were not trying to invade Israel,” insisted the Ayrshire MP.

Dr Whitford said that while Hamas might have manipulated people to increase the scale of the protest, it was the despair in Gaza that was the underlying cause. “If we don’t get a peace process, this will get worse,” she declared.

Mr Burt acknowledged the “despair and homelessness” was a prime mover in people’s desire to see a change and that was why the UK was supporting the United Nations to relieve the pressure in Gaza.

The SNP’s Angus MacNeil asked if the UK Government would state that Palestinian lives were of as equal worth than Israeli ones and those who “reportedly cheered in Israel burn them, shoot them, kill them are beyond content”.

Mr Burt insisted all lives were sacred and that anyone in any circumstances, who cheered the loss of life meant they were losing a connection to something that was very valuable.

He added: “It’s the duty of this House, notwithstanding the anger and upset we often feel, to try and find a way through. But his concern that all life should be held in the same regard is absolutely correct.”