AS is always the case in times of war, it is the civilians who suffer most.

And as the casualties continue to rise with every day that Israel presses on with its offensive against Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza strip, there is a mounting dilemma in identifying legitimate military targets.

As the first air strikes were launched in retaliation to Hamas rocket attacks, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: “You – the citizens of Gaza – are not our enemies.

Hamas, Jihad and the other terrorist organisations are your enemies, as they are our enemies.”

But it is distinguishing between the combatants and the non-combatants, the basis of international law in times of war, which will increasingly be the issue in the bloodied region.

The members of Hamas who have launched rocket attacks are legitimate targets, but children caught in the crossfire are clearly not. There will always be innocent victims and the numbers will inevitably grow.

All that does is create more martyrs and deepens the determination of the militants to fight on. That is the dangerous and depressing reality.

Israel has vowed to teach Hamas a lesson. It has done so, ferociously.

But the longer that lesson continues, the more enemies Israel creates.

It has been a wholly disproportionate response but while Israel goes on rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, there are precious few grounds for optimism.