Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. isreal will not stop its attack on Gaza until the tunnels constructed by Hamas have been destroyed.

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said Israel was determined to destroy the tunnels - used to attack troops and towns - "with or without a ceasefire".

Israel began Operation Protective Edge on 8 July. Since then 1,390 Palestinians have been killed and 425,000 been displaced by fighting, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Some 58 Israelis have been killed, of which 56 were soldiers and two civilians. A Thai worker in Israel has also died.

Earlier on Thursday Israel called up 16,000 reservists, fuelling speculation that the ground campaign would be widened.

But the Israeli army told the BBC that the new reservists would relieve a similar number who were standing down.

The army said a total of 59,000 reservists were deployed in Gaza.

The operation began with a focus on Hamas' rocket-launching capability, but has since expanded to take in the threat from tunnels.

After air strikes began, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) discovered an extensive network of tunnels leading from Gaza into Israel.

Hamas militants have launched several attacks from the tunnels, killing a number of Israeli soldiers.

Reports from Israel suggest the discovery of the tunnels - and the reality that infiltrators have used them to kill Israelis inside their own country - has shocked many Israelis and bolstered support for the operation.

It launched a ground operation to destroy the tunnels on the night of 17 July, and insists that any ceasefire deal includes the right to continue that mission.

"I won't agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security," Mr Netanyahu said.

The tunnels would allow Hamas to "abduct and murder civilians and soldiers while simultaneously attacking from the tunnels penetrating our territory," he added.