The United States calls for an urgent ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the White House said on Wednesday.

"The United States is deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday, adding that "we are working to do it as fast as we possibly can."

"We need urgently to conclude some sort of a ceasefire agreement that would be lasting, that would endure, and that would make sure that we can identify the three things that we wanted to do," said Perino, referring to "stop the rocket attacks, stop the smuggling, and also figure out a way to reopen that border."

"Our goal is the stabilization and normalization of life in Gaza and the return of the authority of President (Mahmoud) Abbas, who is the president of all Palestinians, for the ceasefire to actually take hold and for there to be any prospect of peace in the future," said Perino.

U.S. President Barack Obama voiced also his deep concern about the violence in the Gaza Strip, saying his relative silence over the situation in the Middle East is not a result of "a lack of concern," and that the United States now has only one president.

"I am doing everything that we have to do to make sure that the day that I take office we are prepared to engage immediately in trying to deal with the situation there," told a news conference the president-elect, who will take office on January 20.

"Not only the short term situation but building a process whereby we can achieve a more lasting peace in the region," he added.

At least 680 Palestinians have been killed and some 3,000 others wounded in Israel's military strikes targeted at Hamas in the Gaza Strip since December 27, 2008, CNN quoted Palestinian medical officials as saying.

Israel said Wednesday that it "welcomes" a truce plan by Egypt and France and will continue its discussions with both countries about how to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli government spokesman told CNN.

"We are continuing our dialogue with the Egyptians and the French to achieve a sustainable quiet on the basis of a complete cessation of hostile fire from Gaza into Israel and an internationally supported arms embargo on Hamas," the spokesman said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks over the situation in the Gaza Strip on Monday at the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The two leaders sketched out an initiative to stop immediately the fighting between Israel and Hamas, but have not released details of the initiative.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has been pushing forward a durable, sustainable and non-time-limited ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, urged Tuesday Israel to seriously consider an Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

The secretary, in the United Nations on Tuesday, however, said any ceasefire must be conditioned that Hamas first stop firing rockets into Israel.

"We need very much to find a solution to this problem in the short term. But it really must be a solution this time that does not allow Hamas to use Gaza as a launching pad against Israel cities. It has to be a solution that does not allow the rearmament of Hamas. And it must be a solution that finds a way to open crossings so that Palestinians in Gaza can have a normal life."

Early on Wednesday, Israel ordered a temporary halt to its military operations in the Gaza Strip for several hours to allow humanitarian aid to be reached civilians in the territory, but resumed strikes following the aid delivery.  

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)