• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN's Ban Calls Gaza Suffering 'Heartbreaking'

By VOA News
20 January 2009

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is demanding a full investigation into what he called the "outrageous" bombing of the U.N. compound in Gaza and says he stands in solidarity with the people of the Palestinian territory.

Mr. Ban spoke Tuesday at the Gaza City compound, which he said was still smoldering after the Israeli attack last week. He called the damage Gaza suffered in the three-week Israeli offensive against Hamas militants "shocking" and "heartbreaking."

The U.N. chief also repeated his call for both sides to respect civilians and said anyone violating international law will be held responsible. Later in the day, he is to visit areas in southern Israel targeted by Hamas militants.

He also appealed for Palestinians, divided between Hamas leaders in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, to unify. He said Palestinian unity is the framework for creating a Palestinian state standing side by side with Israel.

More aid began to flow into the beleaguered territory Tuesday. Mr. Ban promised to mobilize all humanitarian resources available and would send a top level assessment team to Gaza Thursday.

Palestinian officials estimate the cost of recovering from the war to be nearly $2 billion.

Israeli officials say they intend to complete a pull-out of troops from Gaza by the time U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in Tuesday.

Israel and Hamas declared unilateral cease-fires on Sunday. There were no reports Tuesday of fighting in Gaza or rocket attacks on Israel.

Uniformed Hamas policemen returned to Gaza's streets as the territory's one million people continued to survey the devastation. Gaza officials say Israel destroyed thousands of homes in the fighting.

Israeli forces also attacked Hamas facilities, government buildings and mosques that Israel says were used to store weapons.

U.N. officials and Gaza medics say Israeli attacks killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, many of them civilians.

Hamas said Tuesday that the dead include 48 Hamas fighters and about 170 Hamas policemen. Other Palestinian militant groups reported the deaths of about 100 fighters.

Thirteen Israelis were killed in the war, including 10 soldiers and three civilians hit by rockets.