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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appealed for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and called on the global leaders to do everything they can to stop the 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 said at an emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York.
Ban added that Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad and Hamas had fired over 550 mortars and rockets from Gaza to Israel in the past few days, and that Israel fired over 500 strikes on Gaza.
So far, 83 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been reported killed due to the strikes in the past three days; over 339 Palestinians have been wounded, 150 homes have been severely damaged and 900 people have been displaced, Ban said. He added that all parties, including armed groups in Palestine, must respect international law.
“Once again civilians are paying the price for the continuation of conflict. My paramount concern is the safety and well-being of all civilians no matter where they are.Israel has legitimate security concerns but I am also concerned at the many Palestinian deaths and injuries as a result of Israeli operations. Today we face the risk of an all-out escalation in Israel and Gaza with the threat of a ground offensive sill palpable and preventable only if Hamas stops rocket firing”, he told the Security Council.
He also said that he was in contact with Mahmoud Abbas, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the United States, the European Union and the Arab League.
“It is clear that the international community must accelerate efforts to achieve an immediate halt to this escalation and reach a durable ceasefire”, Ban said.
Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour accused Israel of initiating the violence and trying to dismantle the Palestinian unity government.
“They started the attack against our people in the occupied territory including in Gaza and the rockets started after that”, he told reporters after the meeting in New York.