Paris  - European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas to allow humanitarian aid into the embattled Gaza Strip after an emergency meeting in Paris.

But Israel has already ruled out the idea of a 48-hour ceasefire, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

"There must be an unconditional halt to rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel and an end to Israeli military action. The cessation of fighting should allow lasting and normal opening of all border crossings," the ministers said in a joint statement.

"Food, urgent medical aid and fuel should be delivered to the Gaza Strip, the evacuation of the injured and unhindered access of humanitarian workers should be made possible through the opening of crossing points," the statement said.

The call came hours after the so-called "Quartet" of international mediators in the Middle East conflict - the United Nations, the EU, Russia and the United States - called for an immediate ceasefire that would be "fully respected" by both sides.

France, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, called for the emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday evening as a response to the spiralling violence in the Middle East. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner chaired the meeting.

The EU is the largest donor of aid to the Palestinian territories, but it lists Hamas as a terrorist group and views Israel as a key strategic partner - allowing it to present itself as an impartial player in the region.

Ministers at Tuesday's meeting agreed to step up their aid to the region in coordination with the EU's executive, the European Commission.

"There is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in Gaza or elsewhere ... The EU is more determined than ever to assist alongside the other members of the Quartet and the region's states in ending violence and re-launching the peace process," the statement said.

To that end, a delegation of EU ministers will travel to the region "shortly," the declaration said, despite clear statements by Israel that it won't accept a ceasefire.

"Giving Hamas a rest period to re-group and rearm, reducing the pressure on that organization, would be a mistake," spokesman Mark Regev told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa.)