Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Monday his country will lead a call to convene special session of the United Nations General Assembly to press for a halt to escalating violence in Gaza.

Abdullah said Malaysia's permanent representative to the UN will hold discussions with contact groups of the Non-Aligned Movement and the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, to get the UN to convene the special session.

"The world must firmly express itself and demand a resolution of the issue," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

"I hope the United States and its allies will not impede efforts to convene the special general assembly," Abdullah said.

Abdullah said he had authorized 1 million dollars of immediate humanitarian aid from the Malaysian government for the Palestinians.

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,500 injured since Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip began a week ago.

Israel says it launched the offensive to stop rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza, which have traumatized southern Israel. (dpa)