United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, in a press conference in Ramallah after holding talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Friday, a ceasefire in Gaza was "very near."

He added that the number of “victims” in the Gaza Strip was no longer acceptable, and it was time to reach an agreement and announce an immediate ceasefire.

Fayyad in turn called for an immediate halt to the “unprecedented catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, because each passing hour means more people die."

Fayyad also called for the deployment of international troops in the Palestinian territories "to protect our people and avoid the repetition of what is happening."

-NOW Staff/AFP