Washington  - Former British prime minister Tony Blair, the top Mideast envoy for a consortium of world powers, expressed full support Tuesday for Egypt's role in mediating the Gaza conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas.

In an interview with broadcaster CNN, Blair said that the most important goal was to come up with "a credible plan to stop the smuggling" of weapons from Egypt into Gaza to Hamas militants.

Copenhagen  - Thousands of people gathered Tuesday in downtown Copenhagen to protest the ongoing violence in Gaza.

The protest at the main city hall square was organized by among others opposition parties and trade unions. Organizers estimated 5,000 people attended.

Earlier Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged Israel and Hamas to cease the violence.

Rasmussen said Copenhagen had no plans to seek compensation from Israel for damages to Danish-funded aid projects damaged or destroyed in the ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Beirut  - Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr said Tuesday Lebanon will not give Israel an excuse to launch an aggression against the country.

"The army, the resistance, and the people are determined not to give Israel any excuse to launch aggression against Lebanon," Murr told reporters.

Beirut - UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon plans to visit Lebanon on Friday to discuss the current situation in Gaza and the Middle East region, Lebanese government sources said.

Gaza/Tel Aviv - Israeli soldiers fought heavy battles with local militants early Tuesday as ground troops on Gaza City's outskirts pushed deeper into a southern neighbourhood.

Israeli fighter jets and helicopters also carried out dozens more attacks during the night, most of them as they were providing air support to the ground troops against Palestinian militants confronting them, a military spokesman in Tel Aviv said.

A total of 60 targets were struck, including more smuggling tunnels and a hotel in the north of the Strip in which militants had gathered and were planning to carry out a shooting against the ground troops, he said.

Gaza/New York - The United Nations Security Council was preparing for another meeting on Tuesday while news reports said Israeli attacks on Gaza intensified overnight.

Quoting residents in Gaza City, Arab-language news network Al-Jazeera said Israeli operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip escalated considerably.