UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon today called on Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying Palestinians need construction materials to rebuild the battered territory.
Mr Ban entered Gaza today from the north at Israel's heavily barricaded Erez crossing station. He went by motorcade to the city of Khan Younis, where he inspected a UN project to rebuild homes destroyed by Israel during its military offensive 14 months ago.
"I have repeatedly made it quite clear to Israel's leaders that the Israeli policy of closure is not sustainable and that it's wrong," Mr Ban told reporters. "It causes unacceptable suffering."
The visit was the UN leader's second to Gaza since the three-week conflict in which Israel bombed the Hamas-controlled territory in what it said was a response to years of rocket attacks by Palestinians on its southern towns.
Mr Ban had agreed not to meet with leaders of Hamas.
Israel restricts passage of people and cargo into Gaza, demanding return of its captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who is being held by Hamas. While food shipments are allowed into the territory, Israel has stopped the entry of cement, steel, glass and other building materials needed to rebuild homes destroyed in its bombing campaign.
Israeli forces killed more than 1,100 Palestinians during the three-week conflict. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the period.
Mr Ban is scheduled to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later today in Jerusalem.
During a visit yesterday to the Ramallah headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank and opposes Hamas, Mr Ban called on Israel to stop building settlements on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East War.
Mr Ban travelled to the Middle East from Moscow where he met with other representatives of the Quartet supporting Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
The group, which consists of the UN, United States, European Union and Russia, called on both sides to refrain from "provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric."
Bloomberg