New York  - The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to spend the last hours of the year discussing the situation in the Gaza Strip.

The closed door meeting beginning at 6 pm (2300 GMT) came at the request of the Arab League, which had earlier urged the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting and take an immediate decision to halt the Israeli attacks on the Strip.

The council had held an emergency meeting on Saturday and urged Israel and Hamas to halt all hostilities. A statement criticizing Israel for air attacks on the Strip failed to pass. (dpa)