DHAKA: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon issued a statement calling for Israel and Hamas to respect the terms of a 72-hour truce set to begin Tuesday morning.

He called on both sides to meet in Cairo and begin negotiations for a long-term cease-fire agreement ‘as soon as possible’, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Ban also offered the guidance of the United Nations in reaching ‘a solution that will bring an end to the conflict’.

BDST: 1605 HRS, AUG 05, 2014