UN Secretary General voices regret over events in Gaza

On July 17 Un Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his regret that Israel has launched a ground offensive against Gaza, despite calls for restraint, and stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict which flared up over a week ago. UN official web-site writes about this. 

“I regret that despite my repeated urgings, and those of many regional and world leaders together, an already dangerous conflict has now escalated even further,” he stated during a photo-op at United Nations Headquarters with his newly appointed special envoys for Syria.

“In the past 24 hours, there have been a number of incidents involving the deaths of civilians, including the appalling killing of four boys on a beach in Gaza City,” he stated.

“I urge Israel to do far more to stop civilian casualties. There can be no military solution to this conflict. This applies as much to Israel-Palestine as it does to Syria.”

Israeli-Palestinian violence has flared in the wake of the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem. Militants in Gaza have since stepped up rocket attacks against Israel, and Israeli airstrikes on the enclave intensified.

The UN chief voiced appreciation that the pause “has mostly been respected by all parties,” and added that it shows that a cessation of hostilities is possible “if all the parties demonstrate the necessary will and put the interests of civilians, who have borne the brunt of this escalation, first.”

He voiced support for international efforts, led by Egypt, for a sustainable ceasefire, and expressed hope that today’s humanitarian pause can lead to a “more durable calm.”

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing emergency food vouchers in areas where shops are functioning so that people can get food and shops can get funds at a time when banks in Gaza are closed.