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red part, someone will talk with Hamas.
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Envoys race to halt Gaza carnage
Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza as the Israeli assault against Hamas militants enters its 10th day.
Separate missions to the Middle East are being led by the French president, and a high-level team from the EU.
Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza overnight, with reports of about 40 Israeli tanks moving towards the southern town of Khan Younis.
Palestinians say two adults and five children were killed overnight.
They say more than 500 people have been killed so far.
Hamas officials say that 10 of its fighters have so far been killed in the ground offensive while the Israeli military reports one of its soldiers dead and 34 wounded.
Israel said it would allow more aid into Gaza later, with 80 trucks loaded with food and medicines.
The Palestinians said there had been clashes in the east, near the Israeli border. Earlier, Israeli forces took up positions in the north on either side of Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it had carried out 30 air strikes overnight. Targets included a mosque and the homes of Hamas leaders.
Shuttle diplomacy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be shuttling across the Middle East, taking in the Egyptian capital Cairo as well as Jerusalem, the Palestinian West Bank town of Ramallah and the Syrian capital Damascus.
In a separate development, a Hamas official said a delegation of the Islamist group would head for talks in Egypt.
Mr Sarkozy's Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, is part of a separate EU delegation which has already been in Cairo.
It is headed by the Czech Foreign Minister, Karel Schwartzenberg, whose country has just taken over the rotating EU presidency from France, and includes EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
After talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Mr Schwartzenberg appealed for an end to both Israel's shelling of Gaza and Palestinian militant rocket attacks on Israel.
Mr Gheit said a UN Security Council resolution was urgently needed.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said it was vital to get food and medical supplies into Gaza to ensure hospitals were able to function.
A Russian presidential envoy, Alexander Saltanov, met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday but failed to persuade her to accept Moscow as a mediator with Hamas.
The BBC's Jonathan Marcus says all this diplomatic activity is unlikely to bring rapid results.
Israel is going to be unwilling to halt operations before achieving its military goals - whatever these goals may be, he notes.
And Hamas is just as unlikely to capitulate as its continuing rocket fire demonstrates, our correspondent adds.
Rising death toll
Flashes of explosions could be seen overnight from the northern border of Gaza and the regular sounds of gun and artillery fire could be heard.
Fighting appeared to move away from the northern end of the territory towards more populous areas in the west, correspondents say.
The Palestinian health ministry says 509 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the Israelis began their assault on Gaza more than a week ago. Of these, it says, 70 have died since the ground offensive began on Saturday.
Some 2,500 people have reportedly also been wounded.
The figures could not be independently verified. Israel is refusing to let international journalists into Gaza despite a ruling by its a supreme court to admit a limited number of reporters.
