UN chief Ban Ki-moon paid a first visit to the war-battered Gaza Strip on Tuesday where Israeli troops remain deployed on the third day of a ceasefire. Hours before the inauguration of US president-elect Barack Obama, the army said a total troop pullout from Gaza was not under discussion. "For the moment, no one is talking about the total withdrawal of troops," said army spokeswoman Avital Liebovich. However the ceasefire appeared to be holding. But Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian farmer in the north of the strip on Tuesday, doctors said.