Israeli air strikes pummelled a wide range of targets in the Gaza Strip today as the UN chief and the US Secretary of State began an intensive effort to end more than two weeks of fighting that has killed at least 570 Palestinians and 29 Israelis.

ISRAEL would be allowed to finish hundreds of apartments already under construction in West Bank settlements, even if it agrees to a US-drafted deal to renew a freeze on new construction, a diplomat familiar with the details said yesterday.

The United Nations’ World Food Programme has appealed for €20m in aid to help 500,000 Palestinian civilians who are unable to find food because of an Israeli blockade.