Monday 28 July 2014 16.18 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Israel and Hamas to build on a lull in fighting in Gaza to lay the groundwork for talks on a lasting peace.
The appeal came a few hours after the UN Security Council called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
The suspension of fighting should be prolonged for an extra 24 hours to allow humanitarian efforts to continue, Mr Ban's spokesman said.
Mr Ban "calls on the parties to renew a humanitarian pause in Gaza and reiterates his demand for a durable ceasefire that could set the ground for the start of comprehensive negotiations".
The United Nations is backing a bid by Egypt to broker a peace deal to end the latest flare up in the Gaza Strip that has left more than 1,000 Palestinians and 43 Israeli soldiers dead.
Five people, including three children, were killed today when an Israeli air strike hit a playground at a refugee camp in Gaza city, according to a doctor in the city's main hospital.
The doctor, from Shifa hospital, said the missile struck the group of children at the beachfront Shati refugee camp.
A further explosion shook the grounds of Shifa hospital, although it is not yet known if there were any casualties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the UN Security Council call for an immediate humanitarian truce.
He said the council addressed needs of the territory's Islamist Hamas militants while neglecting Israeli security.
Yesterday's statement by the council "relates to the needs of a murderous terrorist group that attacks Israeli civilians and has no answer for Israel's security needs", Mr Netanyahu's office quoted him as telling UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The 15-member council released a statement this morning calling for the truce.
The council expressed "strong support" for an "immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire", and urged all sides to accept and fully implement the truce.
It voiced "grave concern regarding the deterioration in the situation as a result of the crisis related to Gaza and the loss of civilian lives and casualties".
Palestinian health officials said a four-year-old boy was killed by Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza this morning.
Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said the child was killed when a shell hit a house to the east of Jabaliya where clashes had recently erupted between Israeli troops and Hamas militants.
Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, expressed disappointment with the council's statement, saying it fell short of a formal resolution demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza.
"They should have adopted a resolution a long time ago to condemn this aggression and to call for this aggression to be stopped immediately," he said following the meeting.
"We are disappointed in that sense," he said, adding that the Palestinians would continue pressing the Security Council to move toward a formal binding resolution.
The emergency session came after Israel and Hamas ignored calls for a truce, with Israel pounding Gaza with artillery yesterday after a night of rocket fire from Hamas.
The two sides observed a 12-hour pause on Saturday, allowing Gaza medics to pull bodies from rubble.
The council said "civilian and humanitarian facilities, including those of the UN, must be respected and protected" following outrage over the Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Gaza this week that left 15 dead.
It called on Israel and Hamas to try to reach a ceasefire based on the Egyptian initiative, and applauded US Secretary John Kerry's efforts to broker a deal.
President Higgins speaks of 'failure of diplomacy'
President Michael D Higgins has said the search for peace in Gaza should be stepped up.
Speaking in Armagh, the President said the appalling and escalating loss of life in Gaza was a tragic example of the failure of diplomacy.
He said there was an awareness among Irish citizens of the importance of building and securing a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Israeli response to rocket attacks by Hamas is "not satisfactory".
He said the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with loss of life, damage to infrastructure and problems with the supply of food and water is clear to see.
Speaking in Galway this afternoon, Mr Kenny said there is a very fragile situation in the region at the moment.
He said that while every country, including Israel, has a right to defend itself, this has to be exercised in a proportionate manner.
He said the Israeli approach in this regard was not satisfactory.
The Taoiseach said the Minister for Foreign Affairs has spoken to a number of ambassadors from the region to express the Government's views.
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