FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair last night described as "very shocking" the level of devastation he witnessed in Gaza following Israel's military offensive.
Mr Blair, envoy of the international Quartet on the Middle East peace process, said there had been a "huge amount of damage" inflicted by the Israelis.
But he said the debate about proportionality was "not really a sensible conversation" and said
he had not met Hamas officials as he made his first trip to the territory since his appointment as envoy.
He said: "I wasn't greatly surprised at what I saw but, obviously, it's very shocking because the devastation is enormous."
He called on Israel to end what he called the blockade on the territory, which prevents fuel and construction materials getting in.
Mr Blair said: "There's no doubt at all that there has been a huge amount of damage done, including whole sectors of private-sector buildings which have been razed to the ground and, in any event, given the numbers of people that have died, I find the conversation about proportionality not really a sensible conversation to have.
"The fact is large numbers of civilians have died, but we've got to find a way of ensuring this doesn't happen again."
His comments came as the UK yesterday pledged £30 million for reconstruction of the battered Gaza Strip.
International development secretary Douglas Alexander announced the cash as he also visited Gaza, the first visit by a British minister since Hamas took control in 2007.
He said there was "continuing suffering" in Gaza and called on the Israeli government to "do the right thing" to allow people to begin to rebuild their lives. He was "horrified" by the level of suffering he had seen.
Mr Alexander said: "I've seen first hand the effect that the recent conflict has had on ordinary people. That is why we are making available £30 million to help kick-start a recovery. We want people to be able to go about their day-to-day lives, for schools to be open and for families to have a home once again.
"The continuing suffering in the area is very clear and we must provide more than just basic humanitarian support if we are to help rebuild people's lives."
However, continued Hamas rocket fire at southern Israel raised fears yesterday of a fresh eruption of hostilities, and hopes for rebuilding were also dogged by continued Israeli strictures at crossings into the Gaza Strip and Palestinian in-fighting.
The visits by Mr Blair and Mr Alexander come ahead of a high-level reconstruction conference on Gaza taking place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt today.
During the war in December and January, around 1,300 Palestinians were killed.
The full article contains 463 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
