UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to the killings of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli shelling.
The UN chief made the call in a statement after talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya. He also condemned the killings as an "atrocious action".
Ban met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya before heading for Egypt.
He is now in Doha on the first leg of a Middle East tour to try to end the bloodshed that has cost more than 400 lives, Reuters reported.
"While I was on route to Doha, dozens more civilians have been killed in the Israeli military strikes . . . in Gaza ... I condemn the atrocious action," Ban said.
"Israel must exercise maximum restraint. I repeat my demands to all sides that they must respect international humanitarian law. The violence must stop now," he added.
More than 60 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed as Israel shelled Gaza's Shejaia neighborhood and battled militants in the bloodiest fighting in the 13-day offensive.
Attiyah called the killings a massacre and said Israel must not be allowed to chose when to wage a war and when to stop.
In an appeal filmed in Doha, Palestinian President Abbas called on the international community to protect Palestinians against what he called the current "unbearable" situation.
"The UN security council has failed to protect Palestinians and I call on the council to hold an emergency meeting today to protect Palestinians... what Israel did today is crime against humanity," he said in the recording shown to reporters.
He further called for an immediate ceasefire that was agreed upon in Cairo and stressed that unity among all factions in the Palestinian territories.
