AS ISRAELI troops and armour remained in position on the Gaza border yesterday waiting for the order for a ground assault, Israeli leaders considered declaring a 48-hour "humanitarian ceasefire".
The idea was proposed by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner in phone conversations with Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak. French president Nicolas Sarkozy is due to visit Israel next week.
The idea of the mini-ceasefire would be to see if Hamas is willing to end the rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, before the army is given the green light to invade the Strip.
But prime minister Ehud Olmert seemed to downplay the idea of a truce, saying the military operation would continue until Israeli goals were achieved.
Infrastructure minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer implied it was too early to halt the military action. "Hamas has not suffered enough damage in the recent strikes," he said.
Hamas spokesman Mushir Masri said the organisation would only consider a truce if Israel agreed to open the border crossings.
Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers meeting in Paris called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict. Ministers from the 27 EU member states met late into the night to discuss the nature of their ceasefire demand.
Before the emergency meeting, several ministers had talked of calling for a "humanitarian" ceasefire to allow badly needed relief supplies into Gaza.
Speaking before he left for the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin strongly condemned the Israeli bombardment as a "wholly disproportionate and unacceptable response" to Hamas rocket attacks.
"Actions such as these, as we know only too well from our own history, serve to continue and to escalate the cycle of violence," Mr Martin said.
The death toll in the conflict rose to more than 380 yesterday as Israeli aircraft and ships continued attacks on the fourth day of the conflict.
Bunker buster bombs were again dropped on smuggling tunnels close to the Gaza-Egypt border. Residents living in close proximity were warned to leave their homes before the attack and Egyptian authorities, who were also tipped off, closed the border and ordered border guards to vacate their positions.
Other targets hit yesterday included the main Hamas government complex in Gaza city, security installations and the home of a militant commander. Israel defence sources claim that two-thirds of rocket-launching pads have been destroyed in the air attacks.
They estimate that Hamas still has some 2,000 rockets in its arsenal. Militants fired more than 70 rockets at Israel yesterday, hitting, for the first time, the towns of Rahat and Kiryat Malachi. Last night Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel, was hit by a Grad missile, also for the first time.
Four Israelis - three civilians and a soldier - have been killed in rocket attacks since Saturday.
Mr Olmert said the large-scale bombing was "only the first stage" of military action. Israel's deputy army chief, major general Dan Harel , said "after this operation there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza and we plan to change the rules of the game".
Israeli president Shimon Peres said that the aim of the operation went beyond stopping rocket attacks, and was also about stopping terrorism.
The so-called Middle East Quartet, comprising the UN, US, EU and Russia, yesterday urged "an immediate ceasefire that would be fully respected" according to a statement issued by the UN. "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," the UN statement added.
EU calls for immediate ceasefire by Israelis and Hamas: page 13
Israeli efforts to erase history of occupation are doomed: page 16
Editorial comment: page 17