Gaza City : U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon again called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Saturday during a speech at the Lebanese parliament, where he cited heavy civilian casualties.
A man escapes following an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Saturday.
'"The level of violence in Gaza is unprecedented," the U.N. chief said. "The Israeli aerial and land offensives against Hamas targets are inflicting heavy civilian casualties, widespread destruction and tremendous suffering for the entire region."
Israel's security cabinet is scheduled to meet Saturday to vote on the basics of a plan that could end the fighting in Gaza, as movement toward a cease-fire seemed to be picking up steam on multiple fronts.
The meeting in Jerusalem would come a day after Israeli and U.S. diplomats signed an agreement designed to stop arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory.
But still fighting continued Saturday, the three-week offensive claiming more than 1,000 lives -- many of them Palestinian civilians.
Two children were killed in an Israeli artillery attack at a U.N. school north of Gaza City early Saturday, an attack that illustrated the crucial need for the rumored cease-fire diplomats have been negotiating, a United Nations official said.
"This yet again illustrates that there is no place safe in the Gaza Strip," said Chris Gunness, a U.N. spokesman. "This fighting has to stop because innocent people, women and children, who are taking refuge in neutral U.N. buildings are discovering that there is nowhere safe." Video Watch a report on aid shortages to Gaza »
For its part, Hamas says a cease-fire alone is not enough.
"We are working in every direction so we can achieve our objectives in stopping the aggression, lifting the blockade, opening the crossings, and the compensation of our people and the rebuilding of the Gaza strip," said Hamas delegation spokesman Salah Bardwill.
Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad remained in Cairo on Friday, discussing a cease-fire proposal. A Hamas delegation is also in the Egyptian capital, talking with leaders there who are trying to hammer out a temporary truce.
Other diplomatic efforts included the state of Qatar also held an emergency summit Friday in an attempt to find a unified Arab voice on Gaza. The meeting brought together some Arab and Muslim leaders including the presidents of Iran and Syria and the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal.
Friday evening, the United Nations' general assembly voted 142-4 to call on Israel to abide by a January 8 resolution by the U.N. Security Council.
The resolution, which called for an immediate cease-fire by both sides in the conflict, has been universally ignored.
Israel and the United States were among the countries voting against Friday's effort.
More than 1,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children, have been killed since the offensive began, according to medical sources in Gaza. Thirteen Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, have been killed, according to the Israeli military.
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