DAMASCUS, January 18, SPA--U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed hope that Israel's unilateral cease-fire will last as he heads to a summit on the three-week-old crisis, AP reported. Ban was speaking in Damascus where he discussed with President Bashar Al-Assad Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip. Ban's comments on Sunday come hours after Israel announced of a unilateral cease-fire. The U.N. chief is on a trip through the Middle East designed to help end the conflict in the Gaza Strip. He left Syria Sunday on his way to Egypt where he will take part in an international meeting on Gaza. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/627124