United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a humanitarian appeal for the people of Gaza in the aftermath of Israel’s military offensive.

Sky News, BBC will not broadcast Gaza public service charity appeal ads
The fighting in Gaza is quiet, at least for now, but it has sparked an uproar in Britain, where two major broadcasters are under fire for refusing to air a charity appeal to help Palestinian victims there.

The conflict pits the venerable British Broadcasting Corp. and Rupert Murdoch’s burgeoning Sky News empire — which maintain they must protect their journalistic impartiality — against British lawmakers and protesters demanding that the Gaza appeal be shown.

They argue that Sky and BBC are denying viewers the chance to learn about the horrendous situation civilians face in Gaza so they can, if they wish, make contributions that would help provide badly needed food, water and medicine.

Jeremy Corbyn, a governing Labour Party lawmaker, said he and other legislators will demand that the appeal be broadcast when they meet Tuesday with BBC executives.

EU Urges Israel to Allow More Aid Into Gaza, Reopen Checkpoints
European Union foreign ministers pressed Israel to allow more food and medicine into the Gaza Strip and reopen border checkpoints as the only way to ensure a lasting cease-fire after three weeks of fighting.

Israeli troops pulled out of Gaza last week, ending a 22-day land, sea and air offensive aimed at halting the shelling of Israeli cities by Hamas, the militant Palestinian faction that controls Gaza.

Battered Gaza Still In the Grip Of Hamas
Israel waged war on Hamas for 22 days, but on the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza there is little question that the group retains a firm grip on power.

Hamas policemen wearing fatigues and cradling assault rifles stand guard at their usual posts, even where the buildings they have been assigned to protect no longer exist. Movement officials — some still in hiding, some back in public — coordinate cleanup efforts. And pro-Hamas preachers celebrate their “victory” in mosques overflowing with followers who say their devotion to the group has only grown after a war that cost nearly 1,300 Palestinian lives.

Important to note, that Hamas is democratically elected by Gazan people.

Hillary Clinton’s diplomacy will be focused on Gaza crisis:
In cyclone-like international phone-call diplomacy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has centered the Middle East crisis on her agenda, showing her determination to challenge the tough issue.

Clinton has phoned leaders or her counterparts of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France, Germany, Czech, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Mexico, spokesman Robert Wood said on Friday.

“The secretary expressed the desire to work closely with them,” Wood said, adding that most of the phone conversations were focused on the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

“The Obama administration hasn’t fully enunciated its Middle East policy. It will do so in “an appropriate time,” said the spokesman.

Israeli military confirms the use of white phosphorus bombs in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli military announced in a report on Thursday that it has used at least 20 white phosphorus bombs inside civilian areas during the IDF’s offensive in the Gaza Strip to try and stop rockets being fired by Hamas, from going into southern Israel. The report comes as Israeli naval gunships went silent for the first time since Israel announced their ceasefire on January 18, with Hamas following a few days later.

The report states that the military used white phosphorous bombs in civilian areas, with at least twenty phosphorous shells fired by a reserve paratroops brigade into a densely packed area of Beit Lahiya. The United Nations head quarters and a hospital in Gaza City were also bombed with white phosphorus.

Summit in Egypt seeks long-term Gaza truce
A summit meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday will try to help Egypt turn Israel’s unilateral ceasefire in Gaza into a mutual agreement leading to Israeli withdrawal, Egypt said.