DHAKA: The lifting of the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip must form part of any ceasefire deal.

The Palestinian prime minister has said, reports the BBC.

Speaking during a visit by the UN secretary general, Rami Hamdallah said it was time for the ‘siege to stop’.

His call backs that of Hamas, which has insisted on an end to the Israeli-Egypt blockade as a condition for a truce.

More than 640 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say.

Israel launched its offensive 15 days ago with the declared objective of stopping rocket fire from Gaza.

Fighting continued overnight on Tuesday. An air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip left at least five people dead. An Israeli soldier was also killed.

A Palestinian woman the BBC filmed being pulled from the rubble of a Gaza blast on Sunday also died from her injuries, her doctor said. Ten of her relatives were killed in the blast.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry are in the region to try to put an end to the fighting.

BDST: 1318 HRS, JUL 23, 2014