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Gaza Conflict: Palestinians Propose Truce Plan

The Palestinian leadership says it has proposed a ceasefire plan to mediators in Egypt aimed at halting the Gaza conflict between Hamas and Israel.

A truce would be followed by five days of negotiations to stop the fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 600 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and 29 Israelis, including 27 soldiers.

Fatah official Azzam al Ahmed said: "The Palestinian leadership offered a new suggestion in the framework of the Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire followed immediately by negotiations lasting five days."

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has held talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has also met Palestinian officials in the West Bank.

Israel is trying to stop rockets being fired from Gaza by the ruling militant group Hamas which wants Israeli restrictions eased around Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu said the international community should hold Hamas accountable for the latest violence, accusing it of rejecting ceasefire moves, and comparing it to other terror organisations including Isis, al Qaeda, and Boko Haram.

He insisted Israel was targeting "terrorist targets" in Gaza, and accused the fighters of hiding behind civilians in the 15-day conflict.

"We will do what we need to do to defend ourselves," Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Ban said: "We condemn strongly the rocket attacks. They must stop immediately." He also condemned the use of civilian sites by Hamas militants.

He called on both sides to "stop fighting, start talking" and he also urged Israel to exercise restraint.

A four-year-old girl and three women, one of them pregnant, were among several people killed in the latest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, according to medics.

And a UN school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza came under Israeli fire as a team was inspecting damage from a day earlier, a UN official said.

It comes as the Israeli military confirmed one of its soldiers was missing, presumed dead.

Sergeant Oron Shaul was one of seven personnel who had been inside an armoured vehicle hit by an anti-tank missile on Sunday.

The military has only been able to identify six of the dead, but a spokesman denied any possibility the unaccounted for soldier was still alive.

Hamas had claimed it captured a soldier - an allegation which was denied at the time by Israel's ambassador to the UN.

Militants displayed a photo ID and army serial number raising fears they had seized his remains, which could be used to exchange for prisoners.

Meanwhile, Sky News has spoken to an activist who claims to have witnessed the moment a Palestinian civilian was shot by a sniper in eastern Gaza.

Members of the International Solidarity Movement, which witnessed the shooting, say he was killed by an Israeli sniper - but the Israel Defence Force says there is no evidence supporting their claims.

The continued violence comes as diplomatic efforts intensify in Cairo, where US Secretary of State John Kerry has met Egyptian leaders including the country's president Abdel Fattah al Sisi.

As Mr Kerry arrived in Cairo, the US confirmed it would provide $47m (£27m) in humanitarian aid for Gaza and urged Hamas to seek peace talks.

Israel's aerial bombardment has so far resulted in an exodus of more than 100,000 Palestinian civilians, according to the United Nations.

:: All US airlines including Delta and US Airways have been banned from flying to Israel by the Federal Aviation Administration after a Hamas rocket exploded near Tel Aviv airport. Other airlines including Air France, Lufthansa and easyJet have also suspended flights to the country.