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Added on the 13/10/2014 20:21:13 - Copyright : France 24 EN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for "silencing the guns" in Gaza "to honor the spirit of Ramadan", which started on the weekend. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says discussing with Israel 'additional steps' to bring aid into Gaza during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. IMAGES
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) to address allegations its staff were involved in attacking Israel, but distanced himself from calls for its end. "UNRWA has played and continues to play an absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in Gaza actually get it," Blinken tells reporters. "That only underscores the importance of UNRWA tackling this as quickly as effectively and as thoroughly as possible," he says after the United States suspended funding. SOUNDBITE
The UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland says Israel's limited steps to let aid into Gaza are "positive," but fall "short of what is needed." "The delivery of humanitarian aid in the Strip continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges. Amid displacement on an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink," Wennesland tells the UN Security Council. SOUNDBITE
A Turkish vessel carrying materials for field hospitals arrives in Egypt's port of El Arish near the Rafah border crossing with the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, a port official said. A Turkish health official told AFP that the vessel was carrying "materials, generators, ambulances to establish eight field hospitals". The delivery comes as Hamas government officials said all hospitals in northern Gaza were "out of service" amid fighting with Israeli forces. IMAGES
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says the EU is increasing its humanitarian aid for Gaza by 25 million euros ($27 million). "By doing so the European Union will spend a total of 100 million euros in humanitarian aid for the civilians in Gaza," von der Leyen tells EU diplomats in Brussels. SOUNDBITE