New York  - France urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to enforce international humanitarian law, which it said was being violated by parties in the Gaza Strip conflict.

France, which holds the 15-nation council's presidency for January, said in a concept paper that the UN cannot continue to ignore humanitarian violations.

"We cannot let this trend go on," said the paper, which council members debated behind closed doors with the participation of major UN relief organizations.

"This is not only a humanitarian imperative," it said. "Violations of the law significantly exacerbate situations in armed conflict by making reconciliation more difficult and generating long-term traumas in societies."

In Davos, Switzerland, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a global appeal seeking 613 million dollars for immediate humanitarian and early recovery needs for Gaza's 1.4 million Palestinians who are dependent on food aid because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The UN said an estimated 6,600 people have been killed and injured by the fighting since December 27, one third of them are children and women.

The UN has demanded respect of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict, which was ignored by both sides.

The law has two main components: protection of persons who do not take part directly in the hostilities and restriction on the means and methods of warfare. The latter calls for the distinction of targets, and proportionality and minimum necessary use of force.

"When these principles are not respected, considerable damage and suffering are inflicted to the population and infrastructures protected by the law," the paper said.

It called on the council to assess damage to the law caused by conflict and seek an effective enforcement of the law. dpa