UN urges immediate ceasefire in Gaza

The UN Security Council on Monday appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza at a late-night emergency meeting called as the Israeli full-fledged war on Gaza entered its third week.

The 15-member Council released a statement calling for the truce to allow aid deliveries during the Muslim Eid festival marking the end of Ramadan, and as the death toll rose to more than 1,030 Palestinians.

The Council expressed "strong support" for an "immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire," allowing for urgent deliveries of aid, and urged all sides to "accept and fully implement" the truce.

The statement was put forward by Jordan with the backing of Arab countries.

Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, voiced disappointment, saying the measure fell short of a formal resolution demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.

"They should have adopted a resolution a long time ago to condemn this aggression and to call for this aggression to be stopped immediately," said Mansour following the meeting.

"We are disappointed in that sense," he said, adding that the Palestinians would continue pressing the Security Council to move toward a formal binding resolution.