Hamas top commander warns Israel on ground operation

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urges all sides to the Gaza conflict to immediately cease their fire.

CAIRO/ JERUSALEM: Israel will "pay a heavy price" if it launches a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas's top military commander warned in a rare audio message aired on Tuesday.

"The enemy will pay a heavy price if it thinks of entering Gaza," Mohammed Deif said in the audio message carried by Hamas television station Al-Aqsa.

Earlier, senior Israeli ministers decided overnight to hold off from launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to give Egyptian-led truce efforts a chance to work, a senior Israeli official said.

“A decision was taken that for the time being there is a temporary hold on the ground incursion to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” he told AFP.

All sides in Gaza conflict must immediately halt fire: Ban

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to the Gaza conflict to immediately cease their fire, warning at a press conference in Cairo that an escalation would put the entire region at risk.

“All sides must halt fire immediately,” Ban said, as an Israeli military operation against rocket-firing militants in Gaza entered a sixth day, with 109 Palestinians and three Israelis killed.

“Further escalating the situation will put the entire region at risk,” he added.