CALLS for peace between Israel and Hamas are “naïve”, the Prime Minister has said as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday afternoon, Alba MP Neale Hanvey asked Rishi Sunak: “This is question of humanity and morality.

"The Prime Minister has an opportunity to lead the calls for peace or endorse death, violence and destruction. Which will he choose?”

The Prime Minister responded: “I think that’s an extremely naïve and simplistic way to look at the problem.

“What he failed to mention in his question was the fact that a proscribed terrorist organisation perpetrated an awful, awful attack on over a thousand individuals and Israel has every right to defend itself in those circumstances and people in their country would expect nothing less for them to provide security for their citizens.

“Now of course, alongside that, they must abide by international law and we will do everything we can as I have said to make sure that aid flows in and provides alleviation to the suffering that the people in Gaza are seeing.”

Meanwhile Sunak again rejected calls for a ceasefire as he was warned Gaza could soon become a "graveyard" if Israel kept up its bombardment of the strip. 

Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, said: "In 2010, the then prime minister and now Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that people in Gaza are living under constant attacks and pressure in an open-air prison.

"Does the current Prime Minister not agree that if there is not an immediate ceasefire then all of us in this chamber will be watching on as that open-air prison is turned into a graveyard?”

He added: “How much worse does it need to get, 4609 children are already dead in Gaza, babies in the neo-natal intensive care unit are dying because they don’t have access to oxygen.

READ MORE: MPs urged to ‘show moral leadership’ by backing SNP Gaza ceasefire call

“For members across the House this is a question of values and it is a question of conscience.

"So does the Prime Minister not agree that should there be a vote on an immediate ceasefire that members across the House should be afforded a free vote?”

In response, Sunak said: “We’re doing everything we can to get aid into the region and we have repeatedly and consistently called for humanitarian pauses to get aid in and to get hostages and those that need to get out, foreign nationals, as quickly as possible.”

Labour shadow ministers face the sack if they fail to back the party's amendment in a ceasefire vote on Wednesday evening. 

They will also face the sack if they back the SNP's call for a ceasefire, though it is understood that some may be issued absence slips to excuse them from attending the vote.