Ban Ki-moon calls for immediate cease-fire

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to fighting in the Gaza Strip during a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. Mr Ban criticized Israel for its bombardment of Gaza and Hamas for firing rockets into Israel. The UN also heard a French-Egyptian ceasefire proposal, backed by the US and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel says it has agreed to set up a humanitarian corridor to allow aid into the Gaza Strip. Mr Ban said the Council had "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security" and urged its members to act "swiftly and decisively to put this crisis to an end. He said the longer-term issues of Palestinian divisions must also be seriously addressed and called for the "urgent continuation of negotiations for a political solution". "We need urgently to achieve Palestinian unity and the reunification of Gaza with the West Bank within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority," he said. Mr Ban said he was "deeply dismayed" by the school attacks, branding them "totally unacceptable".