Prague  - The European Union Thursday repeated its call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after a UN driver bringing aid to Gaza was killed in Israeli fire.

"This is another gruesome incident after a UN-administered school was hit," Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country chairs the EU until June 30, said in a statement.

"We are repeating our call: it is impossible to delay a ceasefire," he said.

Gaza/Tel Aviv - Israel pressed on with both its air and ground offensive in Gaza on Thursday, as government officials were due to travel to Cairo to discuss Egyptian-French truce proposals.

Residents reported heavy shelling in the southern Gaza border town of Rafah overnight, as an Israeli military spokesman said Israel bombed another 15 smuggling tunnels running under the border with Egypt, as well as what he said was the house of a militant commander who oversaw the rocket attacks from the Rafah area at nearby Israeli targets.

Tel Aviv  - At least three Katyusha rockets, f

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - Israel welcomed Wednesday a Franco-Egyptian proposal to end 12 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds and injured thousands, but continued to attack the enclave.

"Israel welcomes the (Franco-Egyptian) initiative and is working on it and is interested in its success," government spokesman Mark Regev said.

Israel insisted on a halt to all rockets launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip and a weapons embargo to be imposed on the Islamist movement, he said.

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - Israel dropped leaflets over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Wednesday, telling resident to leave the area until the next morning.

Witnesses said thousands of people fled after the leaflets were dropped. Some were heading to the northern part of the city, farther away from the border where many tunnels used for smuggling are located.

One witness said more than 100,000 leaflets were dropped and many of the residents were seeking refuge at UN schools in the area.

New York  - A difference has emerged in diplomatic talks in New York to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip, with Western powers calling on the UN Security Council to issue a statement while Arab governments want a formal resolution.

The 15-nation council has not yet decided on whether to go for the statement or the resolution. The United States in particular has rejected the Arab draft resolution, which singles out and condemns only Israel in the conflict.