Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday that he will travel to the Middle East this weekend on a mediation mission aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza.

Steinmeier said he would be holding talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and representatives of the Israeli government.

The minister has held a series of telephone contacts with key players in the region in a bid to achieve a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's military has been pounding the coastal strip for nearly two weeks in retaliation for rocket attacks by the radical Gaza-based Hamas movement. (dpa)