US top diplomat caught on open microphone lamenting deaths

International efforts to end two weeks of deadly violence in and around Gaza stepped up a gear on Monday as the United States' top diplomat and the UN chief both headed to Cairo.

US Secretary of State John Kerry was flying to the region after President Barack Obama urged an "immediate cease-fire", echoing a call by the UN Security Council.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon was already there on a whistle-stop tour to build support for a truce, and was to meet the ruler of Kuwait, the current chair of the Arab League, before heading to the Egyptian capital.

The new momentum for a cease-fire came as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza topped 508. The Israeli army said 18 of its soldiers had been killed.

Egypt has been a mediator in past Israel-Palestinian conflicts and has taken the lead in trying to broker a truce between Israel and its Islamist foe Hamas, which dominates Gaza.

A proposal Egypt made early last week was accepted by Israel but snubbed by Hamas, which said it was not consulted. It demanded a raft of changes.

The Islamist movement wants Israel to agree to an end to its blockade of Gaza and the release of scores of prisoners before it will agree to halt its attacks, the latest of which saw 10 militants infiltrate southern Israel early on Monday. Support came from two key regional powers, Qatar and Turkey, both Western allies that also have close relations with the Islamists.

Kerry will seek "an immediate cessation of hostilities based on a return to the November 2012 cease-fire agreement", the White House said, stressing the need to protect civilian life both "in Gaza and in Israel".

It was referring to the Egyptian-brokered truce that ended the last major bout of fighting. That cease-fire stipulated that Israel ease its blockade of Gaza's border crossings and coast, a provision Hamas complains was never fulfilled.

Open microphone

Kerry has publicly defended Israel but appeared to criticize it in candid remarks caught on an open microphone between television interviews on Sunday.

Kerry was heard talking about Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza to a US State Department official identified as Jonathan Finer just before appearing on the Fox News Sunday political talk show.

"I hope they don't think that's an invitation to go do more," Kerry says. "That better be a warning to them."

AFP-AP

(China Daily 07/22/2014 page12)