Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip was launched to destroy the political and military infrastructure of Hamas. But it is Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority and a fierce rival of the Islamist group, who might emerge as the biggest political casualty of the conflict.

Since the start of the Israeli bombardment on Saturday, Mr Abbas and his allies in the West Bank have struggled to present a coherent response: they initially rushed to condemn the air strikes, and expressed solidarity with the 1.5m Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. But their message grew blurred as the attacks went on, with several senior Palestinian Authority officials blaming Hamas for the death and destruction visited on Gaza. Mr Abbas took a similar line on Sunday, when he said the attacks could have been avoided if the Islamists had stopped firing rockets on Israel.