Annan urges Israel to stop targeted attacks

Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Israel on Wednesday to stop targeted attacks and called on the Palestinians to stop firing rockets on Israeli territory. A statement from the secretary-general's spokesman deeply deplored Tuesday's killing of three Palestinian children and called on Israel "to respect international law and to ensure that its actions are proportionate and do not put civilians at grave risk." It was issued hours before the UN's political chief made a similar appeal to the UN Security Council. Ibrahim Gambari, the undersecretary-general for political affairs, told the council that "the United Nations is particularly disturbed at the killing of so many Palestinian civilians in Gaza."