United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon flew to to the Gaza Strip late Sunday to personally appeal for a cease-fire in the Israel-Palestine violence that has killed dozens and wounded dozens more.
The U.N. officials’ call came after the single deadliest attack of the conflict so far, an Israeli airstrike that killed a family of 10, CNN reports. The conflict began with militant rocket attacks from Gaza, but Israel responded with an aerial offensive and talk of launching ground forces.
Ban called on both sides to cooperate with Egyptian-lead peace talks, but said he’s appealing personally to end the violence.He’s joining a growing group of Western and Arabic diplomats who call for an end to the crisis. There are fears of a repeat of Israel’s 2008 Gaza invasion, during which 1,400 people were killed.
This time around, three people in Israel are dead and another 90 in Gaza, and more than 740 people in Gaza have been injured. And Hamas’ military arm, the al Qassam Brigades, which has been tweeting daily activities as the conflict goes on, commented:
Some of the latest Israeli airstrikes are targeting senior Hamas member Yehya Bayaa, a senior Hamas member, said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, the chief spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.
When I say a senior Hamas member, I mean members that have Israeli blood on their hands – members of Hamas that planned either the abduction of soldiers or are very much involved in targeting Israelis.
Leibovitch said the house hit was Bayaa’s home and suspected command center, and she said the Israeli military is examining video of the strike to look for signs of secondary explosions. However, she did not know if Bayaa had been killed.
Mourners gathered today for the funeral of some of the family members who died, and some chanted “revenge, revenge.”