UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged Israelis and Palestinian Arabs to avoid "another devastating conflict" following the latest escalation in Gaza.
Terrorist snipers on Friday killed Staff Sergeant Aviv Levi, 20, on the Gaza border, in what was the most serious incident in the area since the 2014 counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge.
In response, the Israel Air Force (IAF) attacked 60 targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza and destroyed three compounds belonging to the group. At least 120 Hamas terrorists were injured in the strikes.
"I am gravely concerned over the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel," Guterres said in a statement quoted by AFP. "It is imperative that all sides urgently step back from the brink of another devastating conflict."
"I call on Hamas and other Palestinian militants to cease the launching of rockets and incendiary kites and provocations" along the fence separating Israel from Gaza, Guterres added.
"And Israel must exercise restraint to avoid further inflaming the situation," he said.
The UN chief encouraged all parties to work with the UN to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, saying that it endangered lives on both sides while aggravating the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza.
The UN Security Council will discuss the latest escalation in Gaza this coming Tuesday.
On Saturday, Israel’s UN Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote a letter to the Security Council ahead of Tuesday’s discussion.
“After months of ongoing terror through rocket fire, violent demonstrations on the border, and the burning of thousands of acres of agricultural land, Hamas terrorists opened fire Friday on IDF soldiers near the border,” he wrote.
“An IDF soldier was killed in this unprovoked attack. Hamas is solely responsible for the escalation.”
“The Security Council and the international community must unequivocally condemn Hamas immediately, which perpetrates violence and terror against Israeli communities, endangering their lives, and holds the entire Palestinian population of Gaza hostage,” said Danon.