UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour kicked off five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Monday, assuring residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun "that the world has not abandoned them."

Arbour is scheduled to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visit sites on both sides affected by the latest of violence.

Arbour began her visit with a tour of a residential neighborhood in this northern Gaza town where 20 Palestinians were killed earlier this month in errant IDF artillery shelling.

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Israel has been operating in the area to halt Palestinian rocket strikes.

A large crowd quickly gathered around Arbour, showing her pictures of dead and wounded and calling for punishment of Israeli soldiers responsible for the strike.

Arbour urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stop the "cycle of violence" and do more to protect civilians.

"I'm basically here to express my concern and bring some comfort, I hope, by showing these victims that the world has not abandoned them," Arbour said. "I think we can't continue to see civilians who are not the authors of their own misfortune continue to suffer to the extent of which I see."

As she spoke in Beit Hanoun, Israel Defense Forces bulldozers were operating in nearby fields that the army says are used by militants to fire rockets into Israel.

The IDF operation took place in another part of town, and did not directly affect Arbour's visit.