Watch part two

Israel is reeling from two damning blows to the reputation of its army and escalating international and internal pressure over alleged war crimes.

The first is a UN report which calls the recent Israeli war on Gaza illegal and the operation itself a "war crime of the greatest magnitude".

The second, and perhaps more troubling for the military, are the chilling accounts of a disregard for civilian safety from its own soldiers involved in the operation, published this week in a leading Israeli newspaper.

Now, a military official has joined human rights groups in calling for a thorough investigation.

But an external Israeli threat is by no means all that Gazan civilians have to contend with.

In a special report our correspondent Hoda Abdel Hamid brings together two Gazan students – one from each of the two opposing groups - living very different lives and separated by factional rivalry.

This episode of Focus on Gaza aired from March 20, 2009.