UN chief calls for maximum restraint as violence escalates in Gaza

United Nations, July 9 (IANS/WAM) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his "deep concern" over the escalating violence in Gaza, and reiterated his call to all parties to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further civilian casualties and overall destabilisation.

"The secretary-general condemns the recent multiple rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. These indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas must stop," said a statement issued by Ban's spokesperson in New York.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has flared in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank late June and the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem last week.

"The secretary-general is extremely concerned with the dangerous escalation of violence, which has already resulted in multiple Palestinian deaths and injuries as a result of Israeli operations against Gaza," the statement continued.

"It is imperative now to restore calm. The unsustainable situation in Gaza will also need to be addressed in its political, security, humanitarian and development dimensions as part of a comprehensive solution."

--IANS/WAM

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