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Israeli soldiers drive a mobile artillery unit as the sun sets over the central Gaza Strip - Source: Reuters -
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The government is coming under pressure to expel the Israeli ambassador to New Zealand, Yuval Rotem.
The Council of Trade Unions is calling for the action, following the intense bombing of Gaza by Israeli forces over the past two-and-a-half weeks.
CTU President Helen Kelly also wants the government to end 'working holiday schemes' for all young Israelis. She says this is the sort of action New Zealand has taken against Fiji, and that it should be doing the same for Israel, under the expectation it either act as a good international citizen or face sanction.
Kelly also wants New Zealand to reject all Israeli imports for as long as the "inhumane" military operations continue.
Rotem is based in Canberra. He has previously urged the NZ government to condemn Hamas as strongly as some other world powers.
To date, the government has taken a cautious middle ground on the issue, refusing to be drawn on whether it supports a side in the conflict.
Meanwhile, the UN has suspended some of its operations in Gaza after Israeli shells smashed into its compound.
The IDF's shelling set fire to warehouses of badly-needed aid, prompting outrage from UN chief Ban Ki-moon as he arrived in Israel.
Three UN employees were injured.
As of Friday morning, aid trucks from the compound cannot leave the area because of the fire caused by the bombs, which are believed to have contained white phosphorus.
White phosphorus fires cannot be extinguished with water as they become toxic.
The fire is still raging hours after the strikes, instantly wiping out an estimated tens of millions of dollars worth of aid.
Attempts are being made to evacuate 700 people who had been sheltering in the compound.
Other voices join criticism
While peace activists and unions press for sanctions against Israel here, Jewish community leaders overseas have also condemned the human cost of the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
The director of the Foundation of Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Heritage, Simon Levy, has expressed his horror at what he says is the unjustified killing in the Palestinian territory.
He's describing the situation as "more than deplorable", and says Judaism does not justify the recent escalation in violence.
Levy is calling on the international community to intervene to find a just solution.
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