British Prime Minister David Cameron.

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas “bears the principal responsibility” for the escalation of the Gaza conflict, the BBC reported.

In addition, a Downing Street spokesman in the UK said: “[Cameron] said that… the rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other armed groups were completely unacceptable and that the increasing frequency of rocket attacks in recent days was the immediate cause of the situation… He called on Mr. Netanyahu to do all he could to avoid civilian casualties and emphasized that both sides needed to avoid a spiral of violence that would be in no one’s interest, particularly at a time of instability in the region.”