New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held Tuesday telephone conversations with other members of the quartet - the diplomatic mediating group on the Middle East peace process - on the situation in Gaza Strip, a UN spokeswoman said.

Ban talked to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and European Union's chief foreign affairs Javier Solana. He also talked to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and the quartet's envoy to the Middle East, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Marie Okabe, Ban's spokeswoman, provided no details of the discussion. On Monday, Ban, Washington and several European capitals called for a ceasefire in the fierce Israel-Hamas conflict, which entered a fourth day on Tuesday.

Arab governments and the Palestinian Authority have also urged the UN Security Council in New York to demand a ceasefire from Israel in an attempt to avert a potential ground attack in Gaza by Israeli troops.

The Israeli government has so far rejected calls for an end of hostilities, including a proposal by Paris for a 48-hour ceasefire to allow Hamas to halt its rocket and mortar attacks against southern Israel. (dpa)