Cairo - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday renewed his calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and stressed that all UN member states are obliged to abide by UN Security Council resolutions.

He made his appeal after his meeting with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak in Cairo where he arrived as fighting in Gaza entered its 19th day and the Palestinian death toll neared 1,000. In the second such strike this week, militants in Lebanon fired three Katyusha rockets into northern Israel Wednesday morning.

Cairo - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon arrived in Cairo Wednesday at the start of a Middle East tour to seek an end to Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Ban was expected to meet Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak Wednesday to discuss Cairo's initiative for a ceasefire in the current conflict.

Ban was also due to meet with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa, sources familiar with his trip said.

Ban was then scheduled to travel to Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and Kuwait.

New York - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon leaves Tuesday on a week-long trip to the Middle East to seek a permanent truce to the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

He goes backed by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, adopted Thursday, which demands an "immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire."

New York  - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday issued his strongest call yet to Israel and Hamas to stop the fighting and abide by a UN Security Council resolution that would ensure that relief supplies reach people in the Gaza Strip.

"All sides must stop now," Ban told a press conference at UN headquarters. He is to leave Tuesday on a visit to seven Middle East nations and Palestinian territories, ending the trip in Kuwait, where he will attend a previously scheduled Arab economic forum.