UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and foreign ministers of the Middle East Quartet were to discuss the Israel-Gaza crisis in a conference call on Tuesday, officials said.

Ban was to talk with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, France's Bernard Kouchner, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Quartet envoy Tony Blair, said a diplomatic source in London.

"There is a conference call this afternoon, which will be Quartet Principals (Rice, Lavrov, Secretary General Ban and the EU representatives) plus Tony Blair," said the source, requesting anonymity."

The talks were to come as Israel shunned world appeals for a truce, massed forces on the Gaza border and warned that its deadly assault on Hamas could last for weeks as jets pummelled Islamist targets for a fourth day.

Despite the devastating aerial pounding that has killed at least 363 Palestinians, Hamas militants continued to fight back, firing deadly rockets deep inside Israel.

In Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission, Mark English, also confirmed the talks. "There will be a teleconference of the Quartet this afternoon," he said.

AFP