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UN chief demands Gaza ceasefire Pressure grows for Gaza ceasefire
(about 3 hours later)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to fighting in the Gaza Strip during a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. Pressure is building on Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal backed by the UN and the US to end fighting in Gaza.
The US and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have backed a French-Egyptian ceasefire proposal. The plan, proposed by Egypt and France, calls for an immediate ceasefire to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip, and talks with Israel on border security.
Israel says it has agreed to set up a humanitarian corridor to allow aid into the Gaza Strip. It follows one of the deadliest days since the offensive began, with more than 130 people killed on Tuesday.
On the ground in Gaza, explosions were heard through the night. Israel says it carried out more than 30 air strikes. Israel has said it will halt its attacks on Gaza for three hours a day.
Mr Ban criticised both Israel for its bombardment of Gaza and Hamas for firing rockets into Israel and urged Security Council members in New York to act "swiftly and decisively to put this crisis to an end". The pause, the first of which is due to start at 1100 GMT (1300) on Wednesday, will "allow residents to resupply, get aid and so on", an IDF spokesman said.
class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/7812136.stm">Gaza offensive - in maps class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7812295.stm">Gaza humanitarian crisis deepens class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/7812136.stm">In pictures: Gaza casualties mount Overnight, Israeli forces launched 40 fresh air strikes in Gaza.
"We need urgently to achieve Palestinian unity and the reunification of Gaza with the West Bank within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority," he added. The Israeli army has reported no missile launches from Gaza into Israel on Wednesday.
More than 600 Palestinians are now believed to have been killed since Israel began its offensive 11 days ago. Palestinian health ministry officials say at least 195 children are among those killed. The Israeli government says it has agreed to open a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza Strip, to allow vital supplies into specified areas.
An Israeli attack on Tuesday on a school building, which Israel says was sheltering militants, left at least 30 people dead and 55 injured, UN officials say. John Ging, of the UN relief agency, Unwra, said the Israeli offer was an improvement, but the priority was a cessation of the current violence.
Israel, which has vowed to reduce rocket attacks from Gaza on its territory, has lost seven soldiers on the ground. Four people within Israel have been killed by rockets. Civilian deaths
In another development, Venezuela ordered the expulsion of Israel's ambassador in protest at the Gaza offensive and its "flagrant violations of international law". Israel's security cabinet is meeting on Wednesday to consider the proposals from France and Egypt, but ministers are also expected to discuss expanding operations.
Gaza offensive - in mapsGaza humanitarian crisis deepensIn pictures: Gaza casualties mount A Palestinian official said Gaza's Hamas rulers, who want an end to Israel's blockade of the enclave, were briefed in Egypt by President Hosni Mubarak and were debating the proposal, the Reuters news agency reported.
Israel wants to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza via Egypt, while Hamas says any ceasefire deal must include an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
More than 600 Palestinians are now believed to have been killed since Israel began its offensive 11 days ago.
Palestinian health ministry officials say at least 195 children are among those killed.
An Israeli attack on Tuesday on a UN-run school building, being used to shelter people who had fled their homes, killed 30 people and injured 55, UN officials say.
The Israeli military said its soldiers had come under mortar fire from Hamas militants inside the school. A spokesman for Hamas denied there had been any hostile fire coming from the school.
Israel has lost seven soldiers on the ground. Four people within Israel have been killed by rockets.
At least five hit southern Israel on Tuesday, one of them injuring a baby.
Support for truceSupport for truce
The ceasefire plan proposed jointly by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy would bring together all the main parties and take all measures to end the conflict in Gaza. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the French-Egyptian plan a "ceasefire that can endure and that can bring real security".
The plan envisages the resumption of the delivery of aid to Gaza and talks with Israel on border security, a key issue for Israel as it says Hamas smuggles its rockets into Gaza via the Egyptian border.
Welcoming the proposal, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a "ceasefire that can endure and that can bring real security".
The contours of a possible diplomatic agreement are in place, the BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports from the UN.
GAZA CRISIS BACKGROUND Profile: Gaza StripWho are Hamas?Middle East conflict: History in maps
However, if Israel continues to control the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and can choose to stop it at any time this seems unlikely to command the support of Hamas, she notes.
Thus frenetic diplomacy in New York and in the Middle East is likely to continue.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, did not say whether Israel would accept the proposal but said it would take it "very, very seriously".Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, did not say whether Israel would accept the proposal but said it would take it "very, very seriously".
Israel has proposed suspending attacks in specified parts of Gaza to allow people to stock up on essential goods. GAZA CRISIS BACKGROUND class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/5122404.stm">Profile: Gaza Strip class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm">Who are Hamas? class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7380642.stm">Middle East conflict: History in maps
The military will open up "areas for limited periods of time, during which the population will be able to receive the aid", the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said. The contours of a possible diplomatic agreement are in place, the BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports from the UN.
Andrew Whitley of the UN relief agency told the BBC that any relief in the conditions of the people of Gaza could only be a good thing: However, if Israel continues to control the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and can choose to stop it at any time this seems unlikely to command the support of Hamas, our correspondent notes.
"People have been weakened by 18 months of blockade and siege. They've been getting very little food, electricity or heat for a long time, and so they are in a very weakened condition." Andrew Whitley of the UN relief agency Unwra told the BBC that any relief in the conditions of the people of Gaza could only be a good thing.
School carnage "People have been weakened by 18 months of blockade and siege. They've been getting very little food, electricity or heat for a long time, and so they are in a very weakened condition," he said.
UN officials have said that the al-Fakhura school in the Jabaliya refugee camp was being used as a refuge for hundreds of people when it was hit by Israeli shell-fire.
The BBC's Rushdi Abu Alouf reports from a UN school inside a Gaza refugee camp
The Israeli military said its soldiers had come under mortar fire from Hamas militants inside the school. A spokesman for Hamas denied there had been any hostile fire coming from the school.
In all, at least 70 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers were killed on Tuesday.
Israel says its offensive is stopping militants firing rockets but at least five hit southern Israel on Tuesday, injuring a baby.
Casualty claims in Gaza cannot be independently verified. Israel is refusing to let international journalists into Gaza, despite a supreme court ruling to allow a limited number of reporters to enter the territory.Casualty claims in Gaza cannot be independently verified. Israel is refusing to let international journalists into Gaza, despite a supreme court ruling to allow a limited number of reporters to enter the territory.
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