United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is “gravely concerned” with the escalation in violence in the Middle East over the past 24 hours, according to his spokesman, Fred Eckhard “The Secretary-General remains deeply convinced that there is no military solution to this conflict,” said Eckhard. “He urges both parties immediately to cease all forms of violence, to act in strict compliance with their obligations under the road map and international law and to renew their search for a peaceful solution to the conflict,” said Eckhard. Over the past 24 hours, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded on both sides as Israeli forces forcibly entered the Jabaliya refugee camp for the first time in four years. --SP 2202 Local Time 1902 GMT
