UN chief warns Israel against Gaza incursion

CAIRO: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza conflict, warning that an Israeli ground operation in the Palestinian enclave would be a “dangerous escalation” that must be avoided.
Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight Monday to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.
Monday night was also relatively quiet but on Tuesday morning, the Israelis resumed their air strikes, killing three Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday morning, the ambulance services spokesman said.
"Two citizens were martyred in two raids in the Mughraqa area, in southern Gaza City, and a third was killed in Beit Lahiya," Adham Abu Selmiya said.
The latest deaths pushed the Palestinian death toll to 112, with number of injuries over 920, and came after a night of relative calm -- the first to see no fatalities since the Israeli air campaign began nearly a week ago.
The Israeli military said it attacked about 100 targets in the coastal strip during the night, using aircraft, warships and artillery.
Palestinian emergency services said that the raids severely damaged the National Islamic Bank in Gaza City, set up by the strip's Hamas government, in an attack confirmed by the military.
"A financial institution used by Hamas to fuel its terror activity was targeted in the northern Gaza Strip," a military statement said.
The Palestinian interior ministry and witnesses also told AFP that strikes hit the homes of several militant leaders, including Raed Aatar, a senior commander in Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Speaking at a news conference in Cairo after talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, Secretary-General Ban said he supported Egyptian-led efforts to bring an end to the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Hamas-run territory.
“Immediate steps are needed by all to avoid a further escalation, including a ground operation which will only result in further tragedy,” he said.
“My message is clear: all sides must halt fire immediately. Further escalating the situation will put the entire region at risk,” said Ban, who will go to Israel later on Tuesday. “I will urge the Israeli leadership to end the violence,” he said.
“We all must recognize that Israel has legitimate security concerns that must be respected in accordance with international law, but a ground operation would be a dangerous escalation,” he said.
Senior Israeli ministers decided overnight Monday to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said Tuesday.
“A decision was taken that for the time being there is a temporary hold on the ground incursion to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” he told AFP following a late-night session of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle, the Forum of Nine.
“They discussed both the state of the diplomacy and the military operation,” he said on condition of anonymity.
As an Egyptian cease-fire proposal appears to be emerging from indirect negotiations in Cairo between Israel and a Hamas team, a stream of top-level diplomats were expected to arrive in the region to throw their weight behind efforts to end the violence which on Tuesday entered its seventh day.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday evening and US officials said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would break away from an Asia visit to visit Israel, Egypt and the West Bank.