UN chief urges ceasefire in Gaza, condemns new West Bank settlements

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel announced the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City. 

"It is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza ... to avoid the death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause," Guterres said on Thursday in Japan, where he is attending the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

Earlier, Guterres condemned a decision by Israel's Higher Planning Committee to approve more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, in a statement.

"Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to UN resolutions," the statement read.

"The advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-State solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory," it added.

Israel's Higher Planning Council on Wednesday authorized 3,753 housing units, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighborhood of Maale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.

(With input from agencies)