Ban's visit comes just over one year after the Israeli military launched a fierce offensive against Gaza-based resistance fighters.

Some 1400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the 22 days of fighting, and thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed, according to human rights organizations.

Ban's visit coincided with another tour to the region by US special envoy George Mitchell.

Ban was making his second visit to the Gaza Strip since the 22-day Gaza War ended in January 2009 as part of a regional tour aimed at reviving the peace process, which ground to a halt when the fighting broke out.

He entered the war-battered Palestinian enclave from Israel through the Erez Crossing, where he was met by a small group of people waving Palestinian flags.

Ban then began touring some of the hardest-hit areas of Gaza. He was due to inaugurate projects to build 150 homes, a flour mill and a sewage treatment plant, all of which he said were approved by Israel in recent days.

In the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the UN Secretary General had said his visit to Gaza was to show his support for Palestinians.

"I'll go to Gaza... to express my solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people there and to underscore the need to end the blockade," Ban told reporters.

Ban's visit came on the heels of a statement by the Middle East diplomatic Quartet — the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — calling for a return to talks and a final peace deal within two years.

The Quartet also ordered Israel to halt all settlement activity.