Gaza: Death toll crosses 300
" A Palestinian family and an Israeli Bedouin father were among those killed on Saturday as the casualty toll from Israel's ground campaign and rocket attacks from Gaza continued to rise,"BBC reported.
Amid an escalation of violence in Gaza, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave for the region on Saturday to express solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians, and to help bolster regional and international efforts for a solution.
Briefing the Security Council on the latest developments, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltma earlier said the Secretary-General is “prepared to do his part” to help the parties end the violence and find a way forward.
While Israel has legitimate security concerns, the United Nations “is alarmed by Israel’s heavy response,” said Feltman.
While it was “indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel” that ended on Thursday’s five-hour humanitarian pause, he said, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has so far conducted four ground incursions into Gaza and some 90 airstrikes, firing 91 missiles, as well as more than 500 shells.
Palestinians, meanwhile, have fired some 127 rockets and 29 mortar shells at Israel, during the same period.
Image: A Palestinian girl stands on the ruins of her home after it was destroyed in an airstrike in a refugee camp in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip © UNICEF/NYHQ2014-0911/El Baba
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