UN chief says Gaza violence must stop 'in the name of humanity'

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the sides in the Gaza conflict have "expressed serious interest" in his request for a further 24 hour humanitarian ceasefire as the UN Security Council called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire" in the war during an emergency meeting.

"In the name of humanity, the violence must stop," he said in New York after returning from a visit to the region.

Israel launched an offensive against Palestinian Hamas militants in the small coastal territory three weeks ago after a surge in rocket fire.

Ban was critical of both sides for firing into civilian areas.

He said Hamas had fired missiles into civilian areas of Israel, while Israeli forces had used high-explosive weapons in the crowded Gaza Strip.

The council met just after midnight on Monday morning as Muslims started celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the council's call for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, saying it had addressed needs of Hamas while neglecting Israeli security.

The pressure for a ceasefire followed new attacks launched by Israel and Hamas on Sunday despite going back and forth over proposals for another temporary halt to nearly three weeks of fighting.

The people of Gaza had nowhere to run to, the UN chief added, emphasising that participants in conflicts had a responsibility to protect civilians.

Ban reiterated the UN's call for an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Both sides had behaved in an irresponsible, "morally wrong" fashion, Ban said, in allowing the violence to continue despite the efforts of the UN and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

"It's a matter of their political will. They have to show their humanity as leaders, both Israeli and Palestinian," he told reporters in New York.

A 12-hour lull on Saturday, agreed to by both sides following intense US and UN mediation efforts, could not be sustained.

The 20-day war has killed more than 1,035 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel has lost 43 soldiers, as well as two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker killed by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza, according to the Israeli military.

An unofficial, partial truce is being observed by Israel in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Israeli military sources said.

A military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv confirmed that the air force was not carrying air strikes. But Israeli ground troops continue to search for and destroy tunnels in Gaza's eastern border areas.

The Security Council statement urged Israel and Hamas "to accept and fully implement the humanitarian ceasefire into the Eid period and beyond".

It said this would allow for the delivery of urgently needed assistance.

The presidential statement also called on the parties "to engage in efforts to achieve a durable and fully respected ceasefire, based on the Egyptian initiative".

Fighting had subsided in Gaza on Sunday after Hamas said it backed a 24-hour humanitarian truce.

Some firing of rockets continued after the time that Hamas had announced it would put its guns aside, while Israeli artillery guns also fired barrages into Gaza, Israeli media reported.

Palestinian medics said, however, that at least 10 people died in the wave of subsequent strikes that swept Gaza, including a Christian woman whose house in Gaza City was struck by an Israeli bomb.

The Security Council statement was drafted by Jordan, the Arab representative on the UN's most powerful body.

Presidential statements become part of the council's official record and must be approved at a council meeting. They are a step below Security Council resolutions, but unlike resolutions they require approval of all 15 members.

The statement never names either Israel or Hamas. Instead, it expresses "grave concern regarding the deterioration in the situation as a result of the crisis related to Gaza and the loss of civilian lives and casualties".

The statement calls for "full respect" for international humanitarian law and reiterates "the need to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians and their protection".