MOSCOW (AFP) — World leaders hardened their rhetoric and expressed mounting concern about the impact on civilians of the fighting in Gaza Monday, as Israel rejected diplomatic efforts to bring it to an end.
As the Israeli offensive marked its 10th day, European diplomats were in the Middle East seeking a truce while Arab states prepared their own new draft resolution for a durable end to the conflict.
From the West Bank, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would tell Israel the "violence must halt" in Gaza, while blasting the Hamas militant group that controls the strip for acting in an "irresponsible and unforgivable way".
But in Washington, outgoing President George W. Bush laid the blame squarely on Hamas. "I can understand Israel's desire to protect itself and that the situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for an immediate ceasefire during a telephone conversation with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, the Kremlin said.
And in Dubai, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told pan-Arab al-Jazeera news channel that in its blockade of Gaza, "Israel (was) the one which provoked and incited, not Hamas."
The fresh expressions of alarm came as Gaza medical services put the latest Palestinian death toll from the Israeli offense at 555, with 50 Palestinians including 12 children killed on Monday.
"We do think that the ceasefire should be as early as possible," Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, the current EU president, told reporters in Egypt.
But Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rebuffed calls by visiting EU diplomats for an immediate truce to the war in Gaza, saying Israel was aiming to change the "equation in this region".
"We are fighting with terror and we are not reaching an agreement with terror," she said, in reference to the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza.
In New York meanwhile, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki said Arab nations were proposing a new draft resolution for the United Nations for a lasting ceasefire.
"I came at the request of (Palestinian president) Mahmud Abbas in order to start preparing for a draft resolution that will be presented to the Security Council as soon as possible," he told reporters.
But in a sign of the growing diplomatic tension, Mauritania, one of only three Arab League countries that enjoys full diplomatic ties with Israel, withdrew its ambassador in Israel to protest the attacks.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's cabinet blasted the international community for condoning the Israeli onslaught, while Algeria's foreign minister suggested Arab countries that had diplomatic ties with Israel might consider temporarily suspending or breaking them off.
Earlier Monday, Chinese President Hu Jintao, in a telephone call with Bush, described events in Gaza as a "humanitarian crisis", according to Beijing's foreign ministry.
In Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "Australia recognises Israel's right to self-defence," even as he urged all parties to avoid actions resulting in unnecessary suffering particularly of innocent civilians.
Georgia's pro-western government also expressed concern for Palestinian civilians while blaming Hamas for the clashes.
For its part, South Korea offered 300,000 dollars in humanitarian aid, while Japan expressed its concern for the safety of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Jordan's Queen Rania, herself of Palestinian origin, said the death and injury of Gazan civilians was unacceptable "collateral damage" because their lives mattered.
She called on governments to contribute to the United Nations' Relief and Works Agency UNRWA emergency appeal for 34 million dollars (25 million euros) to meet the immediate needs of Gaza's civilians.
Aid groups have said Israel's offensive has aggravated a humanitarian crisis for Gaza's population, who have no electricity, no water and now face dire food shortages. Hospitals were only running on back-up generators.
People wounded in the Gaza fighting are dying because ambulances cannot reach them, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
An Israeli military spokesman said a convoy of 80 trucks carrying humanitarian aid was allowed to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday, including medicine and food sent from Egypt, Jordan, Greece and UN aid agencies.
The Nahal Oz terminal in the north was also opened to allow the transfer of 200,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's electricity station as well as 120 tonnes of cooking gas, he added.
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