New York  - The UN Security Council late Tuesday held an emergency session with envoys from 25 countries including 14 foreign ministers, to hear demands for an end of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

The conflict since last month in the Gaza Strip has left hundreds dead and more than 2,000 people wounded.

The urgent nature of the meeting was palpable as high-ranking officials from Arab countries and the Arab League held rounds of closed-door discussion at UN headquarters in New York to work out a resolution to the conflict, which began with Israeli bombing on December 27 after a barrage of rocket fire toward Israel by militants in Gaza.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his demand for an immediate and durable ceasefire as casualties were mounting, aggravated by the deaths of at least 46 Palestinians when the Israeli army shelled a UN-run school in Gaza.

Ban announced that he will be in the Middle East next week, visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories in addition to Arab capitals. The week-long trip through the Middle East will help him gain first-hand information on the conflict in Gaza.

Ban asked the Security Council to work out a resolution before he embarks for the Middle East.

He denounced both Israel and Hamas amid mounting civilian casualties following the shelling of three UN-run schools Tuesday in Gaza. Israel alleged that Hamas militants were firing from the schools.

"I am deeply dismayed that despite these repeated efforts, today's tragedies have ensued," Ban said. "These attacks by Israeli military forces, which endanger UN facilities acting as places of refuge, are totally unacceptable and must not be repeated."

"Equally unacceptable are any actions by militants, which endanger the Palestinian civilian population," he said. "Today's events underscore the dangers inherent in the continuation and escalation of this conflict."

In his address to the Security Council following his visit to the White House to meet with US President George W Bush, Ban repeated his calls for an "immediate ceasefire, durable and respected fully by all sides. Immediate humanitarian measures, including open crossings for humanitarian assistance, should be ensured."

He called for the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank "within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority." The Islamic militant movement Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority, which still rules the West Bank.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: "There is an urgent need to find a firm foundation upon which a holistic settlement can end this destructive conflict."

Abbas rejected any resolution that maintains the separation of Gaza from the West Bank.

The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, told the Security Council that Israelis have been traumatized by the constant fire of rockets and mortars by Hamas into southern Israel. She said that the Iranian-made missiles were putting the lives of 1 million Israelis at risk.

"We have to defend ourselves, not against the Palestinians but against the terrorists who have taken them hostages," Shalev said. She said every life lost, whether Israeli or Palestinian, is a "tragedy."

Despite the high-level participation in the meeting in New York, the Security Council did not yet have a draft resolution reflecting the demands made by Ban and Arab governments. A draft worked out by Arab diplomats last week was rejected by the United States, which branded it one-sided because it singled out and condemned only Israel for the conflict. (dpa)