Cairo, July 21 (IANS): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo Monday afternoon for talks with Egyptian officials on achieving a ceasefire in the war-stricken Gaza Strip, media reported.
Ban is currently on a regional tour that includes Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority for discussions on reaching a ceasefire in the restive enclave, Xinhua quoted state official MENA news agency as saying.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was also expected to arrive in Cairo later Monday over the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
Kerry has been working to support Egypt's initiative to pursue a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants.
The Israeli offensive against Gaza, which started July 8, has left at least 540 Palestinians killed and 3,300 injured, according to Gaza health ministry spokesman.
The rockets of Gaza-ruling Hamas movement left a dozen of Israeli soldiers dead.
Egypt offered last week an initiative to achieve ceasefire in Gaza unconditionally.
The proposal was welcomed by all concerned parties excluding Hamas, which rejected the idea of ceasefire without a comprehensive solution.