UN chief calls for peacetalks instead of fighting

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a stop to the conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces, urging for peace talks instead of fighting.

Israeli forces continued shelling multiple sites across the Gaza Strip, including the enclave's sole power plant, and said it was meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists, as diplomats sought to end the bloodshed.

Some 630 Palestinians, many of them children and civilians have died in the conflagration, including a seven-year-old hit by a shell in southern Gaza early Wednesday, a medic said.

Some 29 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including a tank officer who was shot by a Palestinian sniper overnight. Two civilians have been slain by rocket fire.

The military says one of its soldiers is also missing and believes he might be dead. Hamas says it has seized him, but has not yet released any further details.

Speaking in Egypt, US Secretary of State John Kerry said a previous Egyptian plan should form the basis of a ceasefire.

Kerry said the US was concerned about Palestinian casualties, but Israel's "appropriate and legitimate" military operation had his support.

He also said the US was sending $47m (£28m) in aid to Gaza "to alleviate the immediate humanitarian crisis".