BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestine's ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday he had written to UN leaders calling for Security Council action to halt Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip.

Amb. Riyad Mansour said he sent letters to the UN Secretary-General, and the presidents of the Security Council and General Assembly.

Mansour strongly condemned the bombardment of Gaza, which he said breached the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.