United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants, calling on the international community to do everything to halt escalating violence in Gaza.
“It is now more urgent than ever to try to find common ground for a return to calm and a ceasefire understanding,” he told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Mr Ban said Hamas and Islamic Jihad had fired more than 550 rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip into Israel in the last few days and that Israel had launched more than 500 air strikes on Gaza.
Mr Ban said all parties, including Palestinian armed groups, must respect international law.
Earlier, Mr Ban spoke with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US Secretary of State John Kerry over the crisis. The OIC has asked the UN to work to end the war.
