Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that the United Nations has an important role to play in halting the violence in Gaza, expressing regret that the Security Council did not reach agreement yesterday evening on how to end the conflict.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his deep concern over Israel's launch of a ground operation into Gaza today, with the Security Council calling an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

The future of the Middle-East peace process, the stability of the region and the safety of ordinary people in the Gaza Strip have been seriously jeopardized by the “irresponsibility of Hamas rocket attacks” and the “excessiveness of Israel's response,” a senior United Nations envoy warned today, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict intensify.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today held a teleconference with his principal international partners in the search for Middle East peace, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and southern Israel as United Nations agencies warned that hundreds of wounded in Gaza hospitals faced a surge in preventable deaths due to lack of medical supplies.

UNICEF is deeply concerned about the impact of the current violence in Gaza on children.

UNICEF urges all parties to the conflict to abide by their international legal obligation to ensure that children are protected and that they receive essential humanitarian supplies and support. 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today demanded that Israel and Hamas halt their acts of violence, take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties, and that Israel keep open all border crossings necessary for the continued provision of humanitarian supplies to Gaza.