U.N.'s Ban tells Olmert Gaza situation deteriorating

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Israel's prime minister on Tuesday he was deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged Israel to allow U.N. aid workers into the territory.

"The secretary-general today telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to express his deep concern over the consequences of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza," the U.N. press office said in a statement.

"He strongly urged the prime minister to facilitate the freer movement of urgently needed humanitarian supplies and of concerned United Nations personnel into Gaza," it said.

Olmert denounced the continuing rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, but "agreed to look seriously into the urgent matter" raised by Ban, the statement said.

Israel allowed 33 truckloads of supplies into Gaza for the first time in two weeks on Monday, and Olmert told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he would not permit a humanitarian crisis to develop there.

Before that Israel had not allowed UNRWA, a United Nations agency that aids some 750,000 refugees in Gaza, to bring in supplies since November 4 during cross-border fighting in which more than a dozen Palestinian fighters were killed.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he ordered the crossings to remain closed on Wednesday "following continued rocket fire toward Israel."

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Chris Wilson)