OREANDA-NEWS. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately de-escalate the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip. «Out of respect for the spirit of Eid al-Adha, I call for an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel. Too many innocent civilians have already died. This conflict can only lead to increased radicalization and extremism in the entire region», he wrote on his Twitter account on the night of Friday, May 14.

Israel, meanwhile, has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a humanitarian truce in the conflict with the Palestinians. «The Egyptian security delegation left Tel Aviv after Israel launched a major military operation», Al-Arabiya TV reported, citing informed sources.

According to sources, Egypt has offered Israel to conclude a one-year humanitarian ceasefire agreement with the Palestinians through it's mediation. At the same time, representatives of Cairo promised to coordinate this process.

The US has said, that Israel has the right to defend itself, and it will ensure it's military superiority. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Colin Call, during a meeting in Washington with Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Zohar Palti, «condemned the terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, stressed the United States support for Israel's right to self-defense, and assured Israel, that the United States will continue to ensure it's qualitative military superiority», the Pentagon said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas accused the Palestinian radical movement «Hamas» of deliberately escalating the conflict in the Middle East and «rocket terror» against Israel. «In an already tense situation, «Hamas» deliberately and massively escalated the conflict through rocket terror — with horrific consequences for Israelis and Palestinians», he said in an interview with the «Saarbrücker Zeitung» newspaper published on May 14.