Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to embark on a new mediation mission to the Middle East on Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Steinmeier planned to visit Jerusalem, the West Bank town of Ramallah and the Egyptian capital Cairo in an effort to accelerate efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, spokesman Jens Ploetner said.

Steinmeier visited the region over the weekend and offered German assistance in improving security along Gaza's borders in order to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the coastal strip.

On Tuesday, Steinmeier called for a "humanitarian" truce in Gaza to help ease the suffering of the civilian population there.

"Such a truce could provide the starting point for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire," the minister said in a statement released after a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni.

More than 950 Palestinians are reported to have been killed since Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza 19 days ago aimed at halting missile attacks by militants of the radical Hamas movement. (dpa)