AAP


Israel is running the risk of "feeding extremism" if its response to Hamas is seen as disproportionate, Foreign Minister Bob Carr has warned.


Israeli airstrikes killed 16 Palestinians in Gaza overnight on Saturday in retaliation against ongoing rocket attacks this week by Hamas which have targeted Tel Aviv.


Israel is also massing troops at the Gaza border and has given its approval for the recruitment of up to 75,000 reservists.


Senator Carr says Israel has a right to defend its people but he has again urged its government to use restraint.


"I urge a de-escalation and calm at this point. That is what Australia is calling for, that is what other governments are calling for," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.


"We say that account must be taken of civilian casualties, that Israel should be aware of the risk its own troops will be under, the risk of injury or death or kidnapping, and Israel should be aware of the danger of feeding extremism by what might be seen as a disproportionate reaction."


Senator Carr said Israel ran the risk of a backlash with its attack on Gaza, one of the most densely populated regions in the world.


"Any Israeli reaction has got to take into account the great danger of civilian casualties, of the danger of the world seeing it as a disproportionate reaction even though the rocket attacks on Israel are the key cause of this tension," he said.


The world wanted "an alternative to further fighting" but Israel was entitled to defend itself.


"The Israelis will defend their people and they will respond strongly," Senator Carr said.


He repeated that he expected one of the legacies US President Barack Obama would seek in his second term was the creation of a Palestinian state.