JERUSALEM - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is set to visit the Gaza Strip on Tuesday following the deadly Israeli offensive on Hamas in the enclave, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry told AFP.
"Ban is planning to begin his trip in Jerusalem and from there he will visit several UN sites in Gaza," Yossi Levy told AFP, adding that "the plan might still be subject to changes."
It will be Ban's first visit to the Hamas-ruled territory which was pummelled by the Israeli military during the 22-day offensive that ended on Sunday leaving more than 1,300 people dead.
The secretary general also planned to visit the Israeli town of Sderot, five kilometres (three miles) from the Gaza border, which has been hit by thousands of rockets from Palestinian militants in recent years.
Ban's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told AFP from Kuwait, where the UN chief was attending an Arab summit, that "he has been considering such a visit since the beginning of his trip to the region, but I can not confirm it."
Ban kicked off a tour of the Middle East early last week seeking a permanent truce in Gaza, where Israel unilaterally ceased fire on Sunday.
Israeli tanks and ground forces were still deployed inside the impoverished territory despite withdrawals from some key positions on Sunday.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 in a bid to halt rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel.