More than 50,000 people have signed a petition calling on the British government on to send a Royal Navy hospital ship to Gaza to help the spiralling number of causalities there.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus is a 100-bed seafaring hospital, which has a “four bay operating theatre with a 10 bed Critical Care Unit, a 20 bed High Dependency Unit and a CT Scanner”, the Ministry of Defence states on its website.

It is currently moored in Falmouth, yet in light of the fighting that has been raging between Israel and Gaza and the 2,000-plus lives that have been lost in the conflict, campaigners are urging the government to step up its humanitarian aid to the region.

Downing Street announced yesterday that Britain is deploying a team of NHS medics to Gaza to treat wounded victims affected by the crisis, sending doctors, paramedics, surgeons and anaesthetists.

In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 124 1 /124 In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian boy peaks from behind Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamist movement's creation AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries the body of his daughter, who was killed during Israeli shelling, outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City AFP/Getty In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls play inside their school which was destroyed during the 50 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas last summer, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Members of Hamas security forces march during their graduation ceremony at the fisherman's port in Gaza City AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier gestures in relief as he walks with comrades near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip after returning from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian coastal enclave AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli Merkava tank moves along a road near the border with the Gaza Strip, Southern Israel EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers next to a destroyed mosque was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP Photo In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in the shadow of a toppled minaret at a mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Relatives mourn during the funeral of 10-year old Ibraheem al-Dawawsa. According to medics the child died in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque which is under construction. The boy is the first dead in Gaza after a 72-hours ceasefire EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of Palestinian boy Ibrahim Al-Dawawsa, 12, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, grieves during his funeral in Gaza City AP Photo In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza City. The Israeli army hit targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, after a three-day ceasefire ended and Egypt-mediated indirect talks failed to secure a longer truce EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man stands on the rubble of a home destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers embrace each other as they sing at a staging area at an unspecified location near the Gaza border EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A shell lies on the ground at the heavily damaged Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A shrapnel-holed wall in the Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City’s al-Shejaea neighbourhood Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers celebrate after returning to Israel from Gaza Reuters In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian men ride a donkey cart past destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian inspects destroyed houses and the area where the Al-Wafaa hospital used to stand Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds his child in his destroyed home in Beit Hanoun EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian brothers sit on the rubble of their house in front of an apartment block in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip after a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas came into effect AFP/Getty In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A general view shows destruction in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of Gaza Strip at the beginning of a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian carries his belongings from rubble of his destroyed house in Khoza-a neighbourhood in the east of Khanyounis town in the southern Gaza Strip EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Backdropped by the damaged minaret of the Al-Azba mosque, Palestinians inspect the damage to the Nada Towers residential neighborhood in the town of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians used pieces of cardboard as protection from the sun while queuing up in front of a bakery in Gaza City. A seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire called by Israel went into effect in most of the Gaza Strip, after an attack that killed 10 people at a UN-run school EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier rides an armoured personnel carrier (APC) towards a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinians accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire on Monday by launching a bomb attack on a refugee camp in Gaza City that killed an eight-year-old girl and wounded 29 other people REUTERS In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians carry bags as they return to check on what is left of their homes and businesses following the Israeli military offensive, close to the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza Strip AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Civil defence workers and medics are searching the neighborhood looking for victims of the ongoing Israeli military operation which has killed some 1,829 Palestinians, mainly civilians in nearly one month AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man picks through rubble in a classroom inside a UN school that was hit by shelling Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man inspects the damage at a UN school at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian civilians wounded during Israeli shelling in a UN school wait at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Damage inside a classroom caused by Israeli shelling of the Abu Hussein UN school AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians walk next to the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City. It was destroyed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Tuesday EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia where victims from the attack were brought AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting AP Photo In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Flames engulf the fuel tanks of the only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip after it was hit by overnight Israeli shelling, in the south of Gaza City Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians from a damaged apartment building inspect the damage to a neighboring building, the offices of the Hamas movement's Al-Aqsa satellite TV station, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, destroyed by an Israeli strike AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip as smoke billows from a power plant following overnight Israeli shelling in the coastal Palestinian enclave. The only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip was knocked out of commission by Israeli shelling, deputy director of the energy authority in the Palestinian territory said AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A building within the Gaza port is seen on fire after several strikes Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The rubble of the house of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, – pictured in the poster, hit by a pre-dawn Israeli strike, in Gaza City AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises from Tuffah neighbourhood after Israeli air strikes in the east of Gaza City. Relentless bombardment has crippled the city’s infrastructure EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A woman wounded in an Israeli strike is taken to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man walks in front of a fire raging at the Gaza's main power plant following an overnight Israeli airstrike, south of Gaza City EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Horses belonging to internally displaced Palestinians look for eatable things in the rubbish outside a UN school, which was transformed into a shelter in the Jabalia district, northern Gaza Strip EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian girl poses while playing during the first day of Eid al-Fitr in a United Nations school.Muslims usually start the day by visiting cemeteries, to pay their respects to the dead, and then exchange family visits AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Abir Shamaleh, left, sits next to the grave of her son Saher, a civilian according to the family, who was killed in an Israeli strike during the war, as members of the family visit a cemetery in Gaza City. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli army Merkava tank rolls along the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The UN Security Council joined US President Barack Obama in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel and Hamas ignored calls for a truce despite mounting civilian casualties AFP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A wounded Palestinian woman runs in the street after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries after identifying the body of his loved one, killed in an Israeli strike, inside the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Ahmed Jadallah, center, 75, prepares a body for burial at the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother mourns over the body of her son, Abd al-Karim al-Shibari, who was killed after a UN school in the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli shell, at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian medics run carrying children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, flashes the V-sign for "Victory" as he arrives on a stretcher at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps a relative, wounded in an Israeli strike in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Members of the El Ajramy family salvage some of their belongings from their house, which was destroyed by an overnight Israeli strike in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a car following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps his son who got injured when a UN school for refugees was allegedly hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls cry after their father was killed in a UN-operated school after an alleged Israeli attack in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, cry as they lay on the floor at the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries over the body of his son who died when a UN school for refugees was, according to medics, hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian youth carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A pool of blood in a UN-operated school after an Israeli air strikes in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian medic carries a wounded injured to a treatment room of Nasser hospital, following an Israeli airstrike at their family house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries his father as he and others run to take cover during an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians paramedics run for cover from Israeli air strike during their search for injured people in the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians flee during a two hour temporary ceasefire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near a heavily damaged mosque following an Israeli military strike in Gaza city In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian relatives of Tawfiq al -Aga, who medics said was killed in Israeli shelling, mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Red cross staff arrive to the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother lies on the ground as she mourns the death of her son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at a hospital in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya who was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body in the street outside the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner touches a wreath placed on the grave of fallen Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza, during his funeral in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner reacts during the funeral for Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Soldiers carry the coffin of Sergeant Max Steinberg during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The parents of Sergeant Max Steinberg grieve at his coffin during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Jewish worshipper takes part in a special prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City for the well-being of Israeli soldiers in Gaza In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A banner depicting the names of Palestinians killed in Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip hangs on the landmark Pigeon Rock in Beirut's Rawshe seafront In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israel officer with a bird on his shoulder speaks to his soldiers after they returned from a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory, as the conflict entered its third week with neither side showing any sign of willingness to pull back In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian families who fled their homes from east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip ride on a car in their way to the city of Khan Younis AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke from an Israeli strike rises over Gaza City AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires from southern Israeli into the Gaza Strip EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The morgue attendant hands over the body to a relative of two-year-old Palestinian Lamar Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man, in clothes stained with the blood of his father, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, mourns as he disembarks an ambulance transporting his father's body, at a hospital in Khan Younis Reuters In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Sgt. Max Steinberg, during his funeral at the Mount Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem. Steinberg, a 24-year-old American citizen who grew up in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, was killed while fighting in Gaza AP In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian paramedics carry a six-month-old baby into the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia after he was injured in an Israeli strike in the norhtern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A relative of Shahed Qishtah, a nine-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in an Israeli strike while playing, left the Kamal Adwan hospital where he brought her in Beit Lahia in the norhtern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian child screams in pain at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip after she was hit by shrapnel during an Israeli military strike near her family house Getty In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip The father of a nine-year-old girl, Shahed Qishtah, leads a relative carrying her to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza; she died of her injuries AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip An injured Palestinian at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Mourning relatives of the Kelani family cry as they attend the funeral in Beit Lahiya, Gaza EPA In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Brothers and family members of Ibrahim al-Kelani, the father and husband of a family of seven with dual Palestinian-German citizenship, attend his funeral in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Relatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant Abduallah El-Buhasi, who medics said was killed in an Israeli air strike, mourn during his funeral in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman runs to seek cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes at a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip, at Howwara checkpoint near the west bank city of Nablus In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood during a military operation in eastern Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A member of Palestinian Selam family is rescued under the wreckage of their house, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike within the 'Operation Protective Edge' Getty Images In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Firemen cut Palestinians free from the wreckage of the building, in which 11 Palestinians died and others injured following an Israel assault in Rimal, in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip One member of Palestinian Selam family is is killed and 8 others get wounded after an Israeli airstrike, hit their hose and destroyed it within the 'Operation Protective Edge' In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man is helped to flee Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, after an Israeli strike in the area In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of the destroyed Al Aqsa Martyrs' mosque in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian rescuers inspect the damage of Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian inspects the damage of the Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian walks inside the Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians look at the remains of a mosque, which police said was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire at a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man stands on the wreckage of a car as he searches the rubble of his destroyed apartment for belongings following an Israeli air strike in the center of Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises as flames spread across buildings after Israeli strikes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police arrest an Arab Israeli man during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police keep watch during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics tend to a boy who they said was wounded in an Israeli shelling, at a hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital react while body bags with the remain of ten children arrive after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Sderot, Israel Israeli soldiers stand near their tank while smoke due to airstrikes and shelling rises from Gaza near Sderot In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border Israeli soldiers of the 155mm artillery cannons unit fire towards the Gaza Strip from their position near Israel's border with the coastal Palestinian enclave In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border An Israeli tank manoeuvres outside the northern Gaza Strip In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border Israeli cannon fires artillery shells from an artillery unit near the Israeli border with Gaza In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv The parents of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, mourn over his coffin during his funeral in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv An Israeli female soldier mourns during the funeral of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv Family members of Major Tsafrir Bar-Or mourn and cry during his funeral in Holon. Major Tsafrir was killed during the operation 'Protective Edge' In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel An Israeli soldier inspects an Israeli home allegedly hit by a Hamas rocket in Sderot

They will initially be stationed with Medical Aid for Palestinians at Al Mokassed hospital in East Jerusalem until the best route into Gaza is established.

No 10’s moves, while welcomed, did not go far enough, petitioners said, as they continued to call for the deployment of the ship.

Campaign organiser Veronica Vickery said: “They also need medical facilities to replace those that have been destroyed. We are very much concerned that whilst being a really welcome start, sending a team of 15 medics will hardly begin to meet the medical needs of the 10,000 people injured.

“Previously UK volunteer doctors have reported delays of a fortnight at the Gaza border before being able to get on with their jobs. We wonder how effective this provision will be given the blockade.”

The campaign is also being pushed by parliamentarians, including Andrew George, Lib Dem MP for West Cornwall, and comedian Rory Bremner.

“I have written to the Prime Minister on behalf of thousands of people who have signed or support a petition gathered in Cornwall in the last few days, and also many MPs across all Parties to urge the Government to act quickly to deploy UK MOD assets in support of the humanitarian effort to help the beleaguered people of Gaza, Mr George said in a statement.”

According to Ms Vickery, the petition was presented to Prime Minister David Cameron on 7 August and will be again on 11 August, however the PM is currently on holiday and won't return for another couple of days.

She added: “The scenes coming out of Gaza are truly horrific and we need to act. A health crisis is looming for trapped civilians, with dire conditions in the main Gaza City El Shifa hospital.

“Doctors operate on the floor and in corridors. People die untreated. Only one X-ray machine is working with a lack of doctors, nurses, paramedics, and the most basic equipment.

“We should be at the forefront of the humanitarian response, a pioneering lead from the UK in the face of tragedies like this one.”