Berlin  - Germany said Friday it will help mediate in the Gaza conflict, with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier set to visit with Israeli and Egyptian officials this weekend.

The move adds yet another player to European Union mediation efforts. A Berlin spokesman said Berlin had been in touch with the Czech Republic, the current EU president, before announcing the move.

Steinmeier was set to meet on Saturday in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak. The venue had earlier been announced as Sharm al-Sheikh but this was changed.

No venue was announced for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose term of office expired on Thursday.

In Tel Aviv on Sunday, Steinmeier is set to meet with Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister.

The minister has already made a series of telephone calls to key players in the region in a bid to achieve a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip. Late Thursday the UN Security Council demanded an immediate end to the fighting.

Israel's military has been bombing the coastal strip for nearly two weeks and has invaded it with ground troops in retaliation for missile attacks by the radical Gaza-based Hamas movement.

Germany has been broadly supportive towards Israel in the conflict, saying it is vital to cut off Hamas' supply of missiles, which are mainly smuggled into Gaza via tunnels from Egypt.

"If one does not manage to stop the arms smuggling, the outlook for a ceasefire and a subsequent armistice looks poor," said Thomas Steg, deputy government spokesman. He refused to say if Germany would offer peace monitors in Gaza.

Other EU figures who have intervened include French President Nicolas Sarkozy, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana who was in Ankara on Tuesday, former British prime minister Tony Blair representing the "Quartet," and the Czechs as EU president.

To date, Steinmeier's involvement has been only be telephone, with his ministry's Middle East envoy, Andreas Michaelis, visiting the region in person. Steinmeier said his stepped up intervention had been coordinated with Prague.

Some EU nations have been critical of Sarkozy for acting independently of Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

Steinmeier said his aim was "that the appeal for a ceasefire leads to an actual ceasefire."

He said Berlin was "deeply concerned" at the humanitarian crisis.

"The situation in the Gaza Strip can only be improved if we achieve a comprehensive ceasefire," he said.

He described the late Thursday UN Security Council resolution on the fighting as "an important sign of unity."

Andreas Peschke, deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman, said, "In political and diplomatic terms, we will concentrate first of all on obtaining a ceasefire. We see the principal point of departure in Egypt's initiative.

"That's why it is important to step up and maintain contacts with Egypt and of course directly with Israel."

Egypt's plan, as backed by Sarkozy, calls for a cessation of violence, allowing aid to reach civilians. It also includes an invitation to discuss ending Israel's blockade of Gaza. dpa