
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned civilian deaths in Gaza as "unacceptable" and appealed for them to "stop immediately" and for all parties to exercise maximum restraint, Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Wednesday.
Israel hit Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza for a second day on Wednesday and Palestinian militants launched hundreds of rockets across the border, setting off sirens as far away as Tel Aviv, while Egypt began efforts to mediate an end to the fighting.