MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – UN Under Secretary for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman has cancelled his trip to Moscow and Kiev amid the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Hak told RIA Novosti.
"It is canceled for now, because of the Gaza situation he has to be here," Hak said.
Earlier reports said Feltman was scheduled to arrive in Moscow and Kiev this weekend. He announced the plans for the trip, aimed at resolving the crisis in eastern Ukraine, in mid-July at the UN Security Council session.
At least 43 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip overnight, raising the total number of Palestinians killed since the start of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge to 1,194.
Twenty were killed in a UN school shelling, as Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across the region, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Kidra said.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8, targeting the Hamas movement and its allied groups of rebels in response to Palestinian aggression. On July 17, following days of fighting, Tel Aviv switched to a ground offensive aimed at destroying underground tunnel used by Palestinians to smuggle arms and secretly enter Israeli territory.
