Israel's President Shimon Peres accused Iran Monday of encouraging the Palestinians to continue rocket attacks on Israel rather than negotiating a ceasefire, saying "they are out of their mind."
Israel on Tuesday halted a threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence.
A record 110 countries on Monday backed a resolution voted every two years at a UN General Assembly committee calling for the abolition of the death penalty.
Israeli leaders Tuesday discussed an Egyptian plan for a truce with Gaza's ruling Hamas, reports said, before a mission by the UN chief to Jerusalem and as the toll from Israeli raids on Gaza rose over 100.
A ceasefire between Israel and armed groups in Gaza depends on each side's ability to claim victory and the credibility of the mediation, undermined by Israel launching strikes with a truce already in effect.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants was an urgent necessity and France was willing to help broker a truce.
US President Barack Obama on Friday reiterated US support for Israel's right to defend itself during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the conflict in Gaza.
Israeli air strikes hit the cabinet headquarters of Gaza's Hamas government, the group said early Saturday, with eyewitnesses reporting extensive damage to the building.
Israeli air strikes on central and southern Gaza killed four people on Saturday, medics said, with Palestinian security sources confirming at least three of them were militants.
The United States called Thursday on Egypt, Turkey and European powers to press Hamas to end bloodshed in Gaza, putting the onus on the Islamist movement to end rocket attacks on Israel.
Israel's air strikes on the Gaza Strip have heightened the tensions surrounding the Palestinian bid for observer membership at the United Nations planned for later this month.
Israel's surprise hit on Hamas's top military commander in Gaza may have enraged the enclave's Islamist rulers, but analysts said it was unlikely the movement would respond in a way which would lead to all-out war.
Arab nations demanded the UN Security Council condemn Israel's deadly attacks on Gaza at an emergency meeting, but the United States strongly defended Israel's military strikes.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease tensions with Gaza militants Wednesday and also discussed the crisis with Egypt's president.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has announced that the Palestinian Authority will present its bid for non-state UN membership, despite US and Israeli opposition.
Israel has warned the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that it will strike with "ever-growing intensity" in response to the latest barrage of rocket attacks into the Jewish state.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon appealed Sunday to Israel and Syria to ease tensions on their disputed Golan Heights frontier amid warnings that conflict in Syria could spread.