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International call for Gaza truce International call for Gaza truce
(about 1 hour later)
Foreign ministers from the countries of the Middle East Quartet have called for an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza and southern Israel. Foreign ministers from the quartet of Middle East peace-brokers have urged an immediate end to violence in Gaza and southern Israel.
Palestinian officials say more than 360 people have been killed in Israeli military strikes since Saturday. The Quartet - the US, EU, UN and Russia - urged "an immediate ceasefire that would be fully respected".
Four Israelis have also been killed, by rockets fired into Israel by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians say more than 360 people have died in Israeli air strikes since Saturday. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza.
The Quartet, of the US, EU, UN and Russia, urged "an immediate ceasefire that would be fully respected". Israel has warned that it is ready for weeks of action to end the rocket fire.
"They called on all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies," said the statement. The announcement from the Quartet came as Israel confirmed that a rocket fired by militants linked to Hamas - which controls Gaza - landed in the town of Beersheba.
Meanwhile France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Israel and Hamas should end hostilities permanently, after EU ministers met in Paris. Beersheba is 42 km (26 miles) inside Israel, the furthest a missile has ever reached.
Mr Kouchner told French media: "We want a ceasefire". In Gaza, Israeli missiles targeted buildings and installations linked to Hamas for a fourth day. At least 10 people were killed and 40 injured, Palestinian officials said.
A spokesman for the UN relief agency in Gaza told the BBC that Gaza lacked basic supplies and hospitals were unable to cope with the "huge number" of injured people.
Aid access
In a statement, the Quartet "called on all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies". In pictures: Day four of raids
Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also called for an end to hostilities.
"We want it to be permanent, to be respected, with humanitarian access because there are many victims," he said, adding that the EU also wanted to see a return to the peace discussions."We want it to be permanent, to be respected, with humanitarian access because there are many victims," he said, adding that the EU also wanted to see a return to the peace discussions.
He said a joint statement was still being prepared but that "there is no difference on this point, on the contrary". He said a joint statement was still being prepared but there was "no difference on this point, on the contrary".
The announcements came as Israel confirmed that a rocket fired by Hamas militants in Gaza landed in the town of Beersheba, 42km (26 miles) inside Israeli. But the BBC's correspondent in Paris says the Israeli government has little time for many European governments' positions and the ministers are well aware of their relative impotence.
The attack is the furthest a missile has ever reached inside Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier that the air assault on Gaza was "the first in several stages" of operations against Hamas.
Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone".
Correspondents say the move could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.
The Israeli air strikes strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.