NEW YORK
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting late Sunday on the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting took place upon the request of Jordan after Israel intensified its air and ground offensive against Shujaya neighborhood of Gaza where 72 Palestinians were reported killed.
At least 110 Palestinians, including 72 in the residential area of Shujaya in eastern Gaza City alone, were killed Sunday in Israeli air and artillery attacks, making it the deadliest day of the ongoing Israeli onslaught.
The Palestinian death toll since July 7 has risen to 509, according to Palestinian health ministry.
Addressing the press after the meeting, Ambassador Eugene Gasana of Rwanda, which holds the council's rotating presidency for July, said UN Security Council members were worried over the increasing casualties and the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Gasana said UN Security Council called on both parties to agree on an immediate ceasefire under the terms of the truce declared in 2012.
UN chief arrives in Kuwait for Gaza ceasefire talks
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Kuwait on Monday for talks on reaching a ceasefire in the blockaded Gaza Strip, which has been reeling under relentless Israeli attacks since July 7.
The U.N. chief's tour is currently on a Mideast tour that has taken him to Qatar and is expected to include Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
On Sunday, the U.N. Security Council called for an immediate Gaza ceasefire between Palestinian factions and Israel.
Since July 7, Israel has been pounding the besieged Gaza Strip with air and naval bombardments with the stated aim of halting rocket attacks.
On Thursday night, Israel stepped up its offensive to include ground operations, sending thousands of troops into the embattled Palestinian territory.
Following the meeting, Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters that Palestine would not give up appealing to UN Security Council over and over to stop the massacre in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Ron Prosor, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that Hamas needs to lay down arms in order to "move to the next stage."
Prosor also dismissed the claims that an Israeli soldier was kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.
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