UN chief says Gaza border closure 'intolerable'

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that Israel's blockade of Gaza is "intolerable" and that border crossings into must be reopened to allow aid into the war-battered zone.

"The situation at the border crossings is intolerable. Aid workers do not have access. Essential commodities cannot get in," Ban told international donors gathered in Egypt to pledge aid to rebuild Gaza after the three-week war on the territory. "Our first and indispensable goal is to open crossings," Ban said.

Gaza has been under a crippling blockade since June 2007. Ban said the conference should "express our solidarity with the people of Palestine and especially those of Gaza" as well as "support the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and its leadership to reconstruct Gaza."