A Palestinian man looks at buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes in central Gaza City, Jan. 21, 2009. The Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip have left 1,414 Palestinians dead and 5,500 others wounded.

An Israeli soldier works on a tank near Kibbutz Mefalsim, just outside the northern Gaza Strip January 21, 2009.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday that "a true end to violence, and lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis, will only come through a just and comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

"This effort must have at its center the implementation of the Security Council resolutions and the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative," he said, referring to the peace roadmap which supports the establishment an independent Palestinian State to live in peace and security with neighboring Israel.

Ban, who just returned from his week-long visit to the Middle East to press for an early truce in Gaza, made the statements as he was briefing the 15-strong Security Council on his Middle East tour. The UN chief lost his voice from the intensediplomacy and asked UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoeto speak to the Security Council on his behalf, and he was present at the open council meeting.

"We do not need new plans and processes," he said. "We have the tools we need. We need only political will and action. Peace has eluded us for far too long."

"The violence, destruction and suffering before us have been a mark of collective political failure," he said. "We made a genuine effort last year, but we did not succeed. We must do more now."

"Nothing sort of a massive international effort is now required to support, and insist on, a resolution of this conflict," he said. "The peoples of the region, and indeed the international community, can afford no less."

"As secretary-general of the United Nations, I will continue to uphold the need for an end of the occupation that began in 1967, the creation of a Palestinian state, to coexist in peace and security alongside Israel, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbors," he said. "I am more determined than ever to see this achieved."

The 22-day offensive, which Israel launched on Dec. 27 with the stated aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks, claimed more than 1,300lives, 412 of them children, and wounded more than 5,450, 1,855 of them children, as well as causing widespread destruction and suffering.

Before his Middle East tour, Ban enjoyed a strong support from the Security Council for his effort to strengthen the international campaign to bring an early ceasefire in Gaza as the Security Council resolution 1860 remained unheeded for more than a week by both Israelis and Hamas militants.

The just-concluded visit has taken the UN secretary-general to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. "Throughout this entire mission, I have been seeking to maximize coordination in the diplomatic efforts to end the crisis, and to make clear the expectations of the United Nations as embodied in resolution 1860," he said.

The Security Council resolution, strengthened later by a non-binding resolution adopted by the General Assembly (GA), calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire in Gaza. The GA resolution demands full respect for the council resolution.

"The fighting has ended with declaration of unilateral ceasefire, and, today, the withdrawal of Israeli troops," he said. "This is an important achievement, and offers a much-needed respite for suffering civilians, especially in the Gaza Strip."

"But conditions are still fragile, and much more remains to be done on both the humanitarian and diplomatic fronts," he said.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes arrived in Jerusalem on Wednesday to begin an assessment of the needs on the ground in the Gaza Strip following the three-week Israeli military offensive that came to a halt just a few days ago. Holmes will lead a humanitarian needs assessment team into Gaza on Thursday, together with the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry.

During the visit to Gaza, "I also assured the people of Gaza that the United Nations will work urgently and diligently to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and to start a daunting and challenging process of recovery and reconstruction," Ban said.

"The challenges ahead are immense and numerous," he said. "While our immediate priority now may be humanitarian relief and early recovery, we must also continue our work to ensure sustainable arrangements underpinning a durable ceasefire, and our longer-term effort to achieve peace."

"As part of this effort, I have discussed the political way forward at length with regional and international leaders," he said. "It is clear to me that for any sustainable political progress to occur, and for Gaza to properly recover and rebuild, Palestinians must face the challenge of reconstruction."

"In both Gaza and Ramallah, I made a passionateappeal for Palestinians to overcome divisions and work to restore one Palestinian government within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority under President (Mahmoud) Abbas," he said.