Washington  - The United States on Saturday urged restraint from Israel in its military operations in the Gaza Strip, but simultaneously offered sharp criticism of Hamas, the organization effectively governing the salient.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Israel needs to avoid civilian deaths in its operations against Hamas. But, in the same statement, Johndroe also lambasted Hamas for its attacks on Israel and its support for terrorism.

Bush, who is vacationing at his Texas ranch, was not expected to make a public statement on the Israeli operations.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for an immediate restoration of the ceasefire, which ended on December 19.

New York  - The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting late Saturday to discuss the situation in Gaza.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was to attend the closed-door session, which was expected to begin at 10 pm (0300 GMT), UN spokeswoman Marie Okaba said.

Israel unleashed waves of airstrikes against the Gaza Strip Saturday, targeting Hamas installations and personnel, and killing 225 people, most of them militants. More than 750 people were injured in the strikes.

Tel Aviv - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was scheduled to visit Cairo Thursday for talks on the escalating violence between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

Livni's trip comes as the Israeli inner, or security cabinet, gave the military the green light Wednesday to launch a series of operations against Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and which Israel sees as bearing ultimate responsibility for the rocket fire directed against the Jewish state.

Beirut  - During a visit to Lebanon Wednesday, the radical Palestinian Hamas movement expressed its gratitude to the Lebanese people and Arab countries who are working on sending aid ships to the Gaza Strip to break a siege imposed on the region by Israel.

"We thank all our brothers in Lebanon and other countries who are working on easing the Zionist oppression of our Palestinian people," Hamas spokesman Ousama Hamadan said.

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - Israel cancelled an earlier decision to open its border crossings with Gaza to vital humanitarian supplies Wednesday after new, massive rocket fire from the strip.

Tel Aviv  - Israel has agreed to partially open the crossing points into the Gaza Strip, to allow aid convoys to enter the salient, Israeli media reported Wednesday morning.

The crossing points have been shut due to ongoing rocket fire on southern Israel from the enclave, following the end Friday morning of a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Gaza militant groups.

According to the Israeli Haaretz daily, the convoy Wednesday will include five trucks from Egypt, which requested Israel open the Kerem Shalom crossing to let the convoy pass, and 30 from the West Bank containing goods supplied by international organizations.