DHAKA: Israel has pummelled Gaza for a 14th day, raising the Palestinian death toll to more than 570, as ceasefire efforts continue in Doha and Cairo.

Washington urged Israel to take ‘greater steps’ to prevent innocent casualties, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for the violence to ‘stop now’ as it emerged most of the dead were civilians.

Hamas insisted on a lifting of Israel’s siege of Gaza and the release of prisoners in order to agree to any ceasefire accord.

US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $47 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza as he called for an end to the violence.

“We are deeply concerned about the consequences of Israel’s appropriate and legitimate effort to defend itself,” he told reporters as he met with the UN chief.

Kerry, Ban, and Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi urged Hamas to accept the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire, reports the Aljazeera.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Doha, pledging to work together for a ceasefire and to lift the blockade on Gaza.

Hamas reiterated the necessity on a lifting of Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the release of prisoners to halt its rocket fire.

With air strikes and shelling raining down across the besieged coastal enclave, Israel’s army said seven of its soldiers had been killed, bringing the Israeli toll to 25 troops and two civilians in the bloodiest Gaza conflict since 2009.

BDST: 0928 HRS, JULY 22, 2014