Riyadh - Saudi Arabia called for an emergency meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss the Israeli offensive on Gaza, a foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday.

"Due to the escalation in the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, King Abdullah called for an emergency meeting for the GCC countries in the Saudi capital," said the statement.

The Gulf Cooperation Council is a trade bloc involving the six Arab states of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Damascus/Tel Aviv  - Hamas, the Islamist group controlling the Gaza Strip, might support a ceasefire under certain conditions, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday in an interview broadcast by the BBC.

"They (Hamas) are for the ceasefire. But when we say ceasefire, we don't say ceasefire for just three days. It has to be sustainable," said al-Assad.

New York  - The Israel-Hamas fighting has inflicted a terrifying and psychological impact on the civilian population in Gaza Strip, particularly on children and their parents, the UN said Wednesday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry updated at the same time the number of casualties, as of Tuesday, in the fighting that erupted on December 27 with heavy Israeli airstrikes against targets in Gaza. It said 971 have been killed, of whom 311 are children and 76 women.

Istanbul - Muslims around the world should come to the support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to a message allegedly released by Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network on the internet Wednesday.

Muslims should either directly support the fight against the Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip or, at the very least, provide financial support, bin Laden said in the 22-minute long audio message.

New York  - More than 300 children have been killed and 1,500 others injured by the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza Strip, the UN Children's Fund said Wednesday.

"Each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded and their young lives shattered," UNICEF director Ann Veneman said.

UNICEF said children, who constitute a majority of the 1.5 million-population in Gaza, and their families are trapped by the fighting. Israel and Hamas are now engaged in battle close to centers of residential areas, posing more threats to Palestinian civilians.

Tel Aviv - Israel appeared Wednesday to be increasing its pressure on Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, as its the air force attacked 60 targets in the salient overnight, bringing to 160 the number of airstrikes carried out in the past 24 hours.

A military spokesman said early Wednesday morning that the latest targets attacked included police headquarters in Gaza City, rocket launching sites, nine arms depots and 35 smuggling tunnels running under the Gaza-Egyptian border, which Israel believes are used to bring weapons into the salient.

Aircraft also gave air support to troops on the ground, the spokesman said.