Kerry says made 'some steps forward' in ending Gaza conflict

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that diplomacy to end the Gaza bloodshed has made progress, but warned more time was needed.
      
"We have certainly made some steps forward, but there is still work to be done," Kerry said in Jerusalem as he started a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
      
Kerry flew into Tel Aviv from Cairo on Wednesday -- despite US warnings over airline safety after a Hamas rocket landed near Ben Gurion airport -- as global concerns mount over rising body count in the 16-day conflict in Gaza.
      
Kerry, who declined to elaborate further on the shape of diplomatic efforts, is due to meet later Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
      
Aides said Kerry, who has been holding talks in Cairo since Monday, had spoken late into the night with regional diplomats.
      
Ban, who is on his own regional tour and met Kerry in Cairo on Monday, also voiced guarded hope for ending the violence.
      
"We are now joining our forces in strength to make a ceasefire as soon as possible, but there is still some detailed way which we have to make," he said.
      
"We do not have much time to wait and lose," added Ban, who said he had spoke during the morning with Netanyahu.

Washington's top diplomat has urged all sides to embrace an Egyptian ceasefire initiative that would first halt the fighting before negotiations.
      
The truce was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas, the de facto power in Gaza, which has laid down a series of conditions, including a removal of Israel's eight-year blockade on the enclave.         The United States has...