UNITED NATIONS, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - Israel should put an end to the death of civilians in the Gaza Strip, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said following the news of Israel launching a ground offensive in Gaza.
"I urge Israel to do far more to stop civilian casualties," Ban told reporters on Thursday.
UN Chief regrets that "an already dangerous conflict has now escalated even further," despite repeated urgings, and joint international efforts towards peace.
The Israeli military has launched a ground offensive in the Gaza strip aimed at destroying tunnels dug by Palestinian rebels under the joint border to sneak into Israel, the military command and political leadership of the country announced late on Thursday.
The military said it would take unprecedented efforts to minimize casualties among civilians.
The ground invasion was announced just hours after Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, agreed to a five-hour UN-brokered humanitarian pause to fighting in the region. The measure was hailed by the United Nations as a possibility of a stable peaceful arrangement.
Soon after the ceasefire came into effect several rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza strip.
On July 8, the Israeli Army launched Operation Protective Edge against Gaza Strip militants aiming to end rocket attacks by Hamas and undermine the group’s military power.
Over this period, a total of 227 people have been killed and 1,685 wounded in Gaza. One Israeli has been killed and over 300 have been wounded or suffered severe psychological trauma.
On Monday, Egypt came up with a plan for a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire, which was later accepted by Israel's Security Cabinet. Hamas still rejects the longer-lasting truce.
