Israeli army tank move in northern Gaza Strip Saturday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

     RAMALLAH, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the UN Security Council on Saturday to convene and discuss the Israeli military operations in Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

    WAFA quoted presidential sources as saying that Abbas had sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council, demanding an urgent session to discuss the disastrous and dangerous situation in the Palestinian Territories.

    Abbas' call came as Israeli troops continued its one of biggest military operation in Gaza, which started on Wednesday and has killed at least 42 Palestinians.

    Backed by air cover, Israeli troops entered the border town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip and clashed with the Palestinian militants there.

    Several air strikes, mostly in the north, killed about ten Palestinians overnight Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Abbas also urged the Arab League to meet immediately in order to put an end to the Israeli offensive, according to a spokesman for Abbas.

    The spokesman said that President Abbas had phoned the Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa and asked the Arab League to push for a session of UN Security Council.

    Related:

    Israeli offensive kills Palestinian child and teen in northern Gaza 

    GAZA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- A 12-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were killed on Saturday night by Israeli gunfire during its ground and air military offensive "Autumn Clouds" in northern Gaza Strip, medics said.

    Joma'a al-Saqqa, public information chief at the Shiffa Hospital in Gaza City, said that Esrra Nasser, 12, and Ammar Rezeq,17, were killed by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

    He said that the killing of the two civilians has raised the death toll of the Palestinians that were killed during the Israeli offensive to 44, while about 200 wounded, 25 of them are in critical conditions.

    Dozens of Israeli army tanks, armored vehicles and bulldozers covered by fighting aircrafts began on Wednesday morning a large-scale operation "Autumn Clouds" aiming at reining on militants who launch homemade rockets at Israel.

    The ongoing Israeli army offensive was launched after both the political and military establishments' approval.

    Israeli soldiers reoccupied the Beit Hanoun town on the north-east borders of the Gaza Strip with Israel, and conducted a house-to-hour search, saying they were searching for militants. Palestinians said more than 100 were arrested.

    Meanwhile, spokespersons of the Popular Resistance Committees and two Fatah movement affiliated armed wings told a news conference that the Israeli military operation has failed since it had started and their militants would resume suicide bombing attacks into Israel.

    "The Zionist operation would of course fail and would never help in stopping firing rockets at the Zionist entity," said one masked spokesman, adding "military solution would never resolve the issue of the captive (Israeli) soldier in Gaza."

    Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Islamic Resistance Movement(Hamas)-led government Mahmoud al-Zahar also warned in a statement that the continuation of Israeli attacks on northern Gaza Strip "would endanger the life of the captive soldier Gilad Shalit".

    Hamas armed wing and two other minor militant groups kidnapped on June 25 the Israeli soldier and still keep him as a hostage, while calling for the release of several hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in exchange for the soldier's release.

    Arab parliament calls for Israel's immediate release of Palestinian prisoners

    DAMASCUS, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Damascus-based Arab Interim Parliament on Saturday called for an immediate release of detained Palestinian officials and civilians from the Israeli jails, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.

    In a final statement issued at its 2nd session here, the parliament denounced Israel's daily aggressions and repeated massacres against the Palestinian people as well as the arrests of Palestinian lawmakers and government officials.

    The statement, meanwhile, called for a national unity among the Palestinian ranks so as to secure the people's rights and face the current challenges.

    It also appealed to the Arab governments to meet their commitments towards the Palestinians.

    The statement expressed the Arab lawmakers' common position on regional issues, particularly in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia, reiterating Arab commitment to a just and comprehensive peace as a strategic choice.

    Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa attended the meeting.

    The Arab Interim Parliament, established one year ago, is to fledge into the legislative arm of the Cairo-based Arab League.

    Moussa condemns Israeli offensive in northern Gaza

    CAIRO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) on Saturday strongly condemned the Israeli offensive in northern Gaza Strip, calling on the United Nations to shoulder its responsibilities and pressurize Israel to halt such military operations at once.

    AL Secretary General Amr Moussa made the condemnation during his phone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said a statement released by the pan-Arab body.

    According to the statement, the two sides, during the phone talks, probed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and agreed on holding an urgent AL Council meeting to look at the dangerous developments following Israel's increasingly hostile policies.

    The Palestinian national powers should close ranks, renounce differences and adopt a unified national stance that would take into consideration the Palestinian interests, Moussa urged in the statement.

    The Israeli army has intensified its ground and air offensive on the Gaza Strip since Wednesday morning, killing at least 44 Palestinians and wounding more than 150 others.

    The Israeli military explained that the aim of the offensive is to prevent Palestinian militants from launching homemade rockets at Israel.

    EU Presidency Finland concerned about increased violence in Gaza

    HELSINKI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's current presidency Finland on Saturday expressed its deep concern about increased violence in Gaza and deplored the growing number of civilian casualties the Israeli military operation has caused.

    The statement said that the right of all states to defend themselves does not justify disproportionate use of violence or actions which are contrary to international humanitarian law.

    The Presidency also called on the Palestinian militants to stop the firing of rockets on Israeli territory.

    Violence will only aggravate an already grave situation in the region where a return to the peace process is urgently needed, the statement added.

    The Israeli army has intensified its ground and air offensive on the Gaza Strip since Wednesday morning, killing at least 44 Palestinians and wounding more than 150 others.

    The Israeli military explained that the aim of the offensive is to prevent Palestinian militants from launching homemade rockets at Israel.