United Nations, July 22 : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his "grave concern" over the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel.

"I deeply regret the loss of life. It is imperative that all sides urgently step back from the brink of another devastating conflict," the Secretary-General said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I call on Hamas and other Palestinian militants to cease the launching of rockets and incendiary kites and provocations along the fence. And Israel must exercise restraint to avoid further inflaming the situation," said the UN chief.

"I encourage all to engage with the UN, and particularly my special coordinator, and work to find a way out of this dangerous situation. Any further escalation will endanger the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and undermine current efforts to improve livelihoods and support the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza," he noted.

Four Palestinians were killed and some 210 Palestinians wounded on Friday during fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, the most serious one in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that killed thousands.

The attack began after an Israeli soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. The soldier was the first one to be shot dead by Palestinian fighters since 2014, the Israel Defense Forces said.

 

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Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.

The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.

"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.

The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.

There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.

Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.

The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.