EU's Solana to take peace mission to Egypt, Israel

(PRAGUE) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will persist with the European Union's bid to broker a truce in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Tuesday.

Schwarzenberg, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency, told reporters in Prague that Solana was "on his way to Cairo and Tel Aviv to continue the work that we have started and I hope with a successful result."

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday rejected calls by visiting EU diplomats for an immediate truce, saying Israel was aiming to change the "equation in this region."

And earlier Tuesday, Israeli President Shimon Peres belittled European efforts to seek a halt to the Gaza conflict insisting that Israel was not worried about its international image, his office said.

Peres held talks with EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Schwarzenberg and his Swedish and French counterparts Carl Bildt and Bernard Kouchner.

In Prague however, Schwarzenberg remained upbeat. "We already know there will be dawn but the sun has not risen yet," he said.

"The situation needs further talks but we stay in contact," he added.

Ferrero-Waldner said the EU delegation had managed to impress upon Israel the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had agreed to let an EU official work in their defence ministry to coordinate European aid, she said.

"As long as there is no ceasefire, civilians are being hit, hurt and sometimes killed and we want to help them to survive this difficult moment by trying to get food, water and fuel for them."

The EU delegation visited Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, which is controlled by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Israel unleashed its massive "Operation Cast Lead" against Hamas in its Gaza Strip stronghold on December 27 aiming to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel.

Medics in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that a total of 660 Palestinians, including 215 children and 98 women, have been killed since the start of that offensive.

Another 2,950 people have been wounded, according to Gaza emergency services chief Moawiya Hassanein.