Cairo, Jan 15: With the conflicting parties in Gaza refusing to budge from their stands, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a diplomatic effort in the region to bring a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas fighting, which has killed over 1,000 Palestinians so far.
Israelis continued to put pressure on Gaza with its tanks and artillery firing relentlessly on what Tel Aviv claims to be Hamas targets and were trying to determine the resistance should they attack the congested city of 500,000.
The 20-day old fighting in Gaza has killed a large number of civilians, among them women and children.
Reports from Israel have spoken of a third phase of fighting, during which its forces would enter the urban areas aimed at destroying the capacity of Hamas to fire rocket into
its territory.
Ban began his tour with a meeting with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan.
"My goal is an immediate end to the violence in Gaza – an end to Israel's military offensive and a halt to rocket attacks by Hamas (cited by Israel as the reason for attack).
It is intolerable that civilians bear brunt of this conflict," he told reporters after meeting Mubarak in Cairo.
Till now, both Israel and Hamas have ignored the Security Council resolution calling for immediate ceasefire and rebuffed Ban's appeals to end fighting to enable international community to help find a durable solution.
Ban said Mubarak's efforts are crucial.
Israel has demanded an end to Hamas rocket attacks and measures to cut off the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, while Hamas has called for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and opening of border crossings which Israel has frequently closed cutting of vital supplies for Gaza's 1.5 million people.
Ban, who then went to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah, is also scheduled to confer with the leaders of Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Turkey,
Lebanon and Syria in an intensified drive for a diplomatic solution and relief for the humanitarian crisis now besetting Gaza, which UN officials have called "horrific" with thousands of wounded and desperate shortages of basic necessities.
"At each stop, I will repeat my call for an immediate and durable ceasefire and insist that Security Council Resolution 1860 (demanding a ceasefire) be fully respected by all the parties," he told reporters, spelling out his agenda.
"Second, I will demand that urgent humanitarian assistance be provided, without restriction, to those in need. The UN mandate is to help those who are suffering.”
"Third, I will encourage diplomatic efforts underway among concerned parties, and in that regard I highly recommend the initiative of President Mubarak and the Egyptian
government officials," he added, calling for intensified negotiations to provide arrangements and guarantees to sustain a durable ceasefire.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 00:00