BERLIN: Germany says it offered more than €11 million ($15.3 million) for humanitarian efforts in Gaza this month.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner says the funds went to aid organizations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel advocates a cease-fire but says it must ensure Israel’s security. Her office says she spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Later Monday she will speak with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

For the first time since the start of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, U.S. President George Bush has gone before television cameras to talk about the Mideast crisis.
The president stayed quiet during the first week of the Israeli military operation.
He was on a holiday break at his Texas ranch, and let his spokesman speak on his behalf.
His voice was first heard addressing the situation in Gaza last Friday in his weekly radio address. On Monday, he went a step further – making brief comments to reporters called into …

Israel continued to tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip today, as world leaders pushed for an end to the fighting that entered its 10th day.
After effectively bisecting the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the Israeli military announced that it had seized high-rise buildings and attacked tunnels at the edge of Gaza City. Further advances by the Israeli military would bring it into the heart of the Gaza’s major city.
Diplomatic efforts continued, but showed no tangible results as Israel insisted that it was justified in continuing its invasion until …

Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships surrounded Gaza’s largest city and fought militants at close range on the first full day of a ground offensive.
Israeli soldiers are fighting mainly in open areas in the launching zones used by Gaza’s militants to fire rockets into Israel.
A health ministry official says 64 Palestinian civilians have been killed since the ground assault began. The new deaths brought the death toll in the Gaza Strip to more than 512 since Dec. 27th.

(CNN) — Few civilians trapped in the crossfire between the Israeli military and Hamas in Gaza dare to venture out of their homes because of the constant threat of violence.
Sami Abdel-Shafi, who lives just a few hundred meters from Gaza’s seashore, said he hears almost constant bombardment from Israeli ships offshore as well as thundering airstrikes by Israeli jets.
With “almost no sleep” in the nine days since Israeli airstrikes against Hamas targets began, Abdel-Shafi said the recent conflict has been very traumatizing.
“No one really is daring to step out …

RAFAH, Egypt — As Israeli troops push into Gaza, Egypt has become a flashpoint in the deepening divide between moderate Arab leaders, backed by the West, and their more extreme rivals, including Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria.
That has put President Hosni Mubarak in a suddenly precarious position. Widespread protests across the Middle East, as well as condemnation from radical Islamist leaders from Beirut to Tehran, have targeted Mr. Mubarak since Israel launched its aerial attack nine days ago.

GAZA CITY (AFP) — Invading Israeli ground forces fought fierce battles with Hamas in Gaza on Sunday after escalating an eight-day bombing blitz that killed hundreds of Palestinians and wreaked widespread destruction.
The thunder of Israeli tanks , artillery and missiles mixed with the clatter of small-arms throughout the night after troops crossed the border at around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday in the biggest Israeli military operation since the 2006 Lebanon war.
Operational details were sketchy, but heavy fighting was reported in the north of the densely populated coastal …

Heavy fighting is reported in Gaza between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters after Israel launched its ground offensive on the territory.
Thousands of Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip overnight with tanks and helicopters, accompanied by naval support and air strikes.
While the UN secretary general called for an immediate end to the operations, the Security Council failed to agree on a resolution calling for a ceasefire after an emergency meeting.
In the Gaza Strip, heavy artillery, tracer fire and rockets could be heard while reports said Israeli troops had reached the northern …

JERUSALEM (CNN) — A European Union delegation is heading to the Middle East to meet with regional leaders and seek a Gaza cease-fire, officials said Saturday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet the delegation Monday in Ramallah, West Bank, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said. Abbas then plans to head to New York for meetings at the United Nations, Erakat said.
Monday’s first meeting will involve members of the European Union leadership and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country just finished a six-month EU presidency. The Czech Republic, which took over the …

Angry protests against Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip have continued throughout the world, with two of the largest demonstrations taking place in London and in Sakhnin in northern Israel.
Other large demonstrations were staged in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, Turkey and the West Bank.
Protesters in Kabul pumped their fists into the air and shouted slogans against Israel and the United States, while in Srinagar activists burned an effigy of Ehud Olmert, Israel’s outgoing prime minister.
In Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinians seeking national …