UN chief urges truce in Gaza war

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate truce between Israel and Hamas as the Tel Aviv regime continues to pound the Gaza Strip for the sixth straight day.

“I strongly urge the parties to cooperate with all efforts led by Egypt to reach an immediate ceasefire,” the UN chief said on Sunday.

Ban said he is “deeply saddened by the reported deaths” that the Israeli attacks have caused in Gaza.

Ban was scheduled to talk with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi about the Israeli war on Gaza as well as “current regional and international issues,” said Amr Rushdi, spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

Egypt is in contact with Israelis and Palestinians to broker a ceasefire soon, Rushdi said.

Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshaal said in Cairo on Sunday that the lifting of Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza and the ending of Tel Aviv’s targeted killings of Hamas commanders are the main Palestinian demands for truce with the Israeli regime.

The Israeli military says it has attacked the Gaza Strip 1,350 times since the beginning of the new wave of raids on November 14.

At least 90 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded during the attacks.