Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli ministers will weigh a French proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire in the Gaza Strip after four days of debilitating air strikes against Hamas targets that have left more than 360 Palestinians dead.

The Israeli army will continue military operations until a decision is made on the proposal, which was offered by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, said an Israeli defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s security cabinet will discuss the idea tonight, Army Radio said.

“There are various demands for a humanitarian cease-fire. That is something we can consider but it can take place before or after a ground operation, or any other military initiative,” Israel’s Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said on Army Radio.

At least 25 Gaza-launched rockets hit Israeli towns today, many of them reaching deep into the 30-to-40 kilometer (19-to-25 mile) radius the government has declared within attack range, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said by phone. One hit Beersheba, the farthest strike from Gaza yet, causing no injuries, an army spokeswoman said.

Israeli air force sorties leveled the Hamas government compound in Gaza City that housed the foreign, finance, justice and interior ministries as well as military installations that included training bases used by militants.

Death Toll

As many as 369 Palestinians have been killed and 1,400 wounded since Israel started its aerial campaign on Dec. 27, according to the Palestinian emergency services office in Gaza City. Three Israeli civilians and one soldier have died in the rocket attacks that Israeli leaders say the offensive is designed to stop after a six-month cease-fire with Hamas expired Dec. 19.

Foreign ministers of the European Union’s 27 states said at a meeting in Paris that a truce was needed to allow aid into the impoverished strip and to support diplomacy that could end the conflict.

“We all together want a cease-fire to be permanent, respected, with humanitarian access,” France’s Kouchner said in an interview with news channel TF1 today. “And a return to the peace process, that’s what we all want.”

President George W. Bush conferred with Palestinian leaders in an effort to achieve a cease-fire. He spoke by phone with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush is vacationing.

‘Lasting and Durable’

“We have got to get a commitment from Hamas that they would respect any cease-fire and make it lasting and durable,” Johndroe said.

Representatives of the U.S., Russia, the EU and the United Nations held an emergency conference call today to discuss the conflict. The so-called Quartet supporting Mideast peace talks last met in New York on Dec. 15 on the sidelines of UN Security Council consultations.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called leaders in the region and beyond since fighting started, including a discussion today with Jordan’s King Abdullah, said Gordon Duguid, a spokesman for the State Department.

The calls for a truce came as Israeli leaders were indicating they were ready to send in ground troops to stop the rockets. Channel Two last night showed footage of tanks massed on Israel’s border with Gaza.

‘Several Stages’

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said “the military operation is in the first of several stages” in a meeting today with President Shimon Peres, according to an e-mailed statement.

“Our goal is to bring quiet back to the south and to strike a heavy blow to Hamas,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, adding that Israel intends to “expand and deepen its military action.” His deputy, Matan Vilnai, said Israel was prepared to fight for several weeks.

Israel’s Cabinet on Dec. 28 cleared the way for the army to draft as many as 7,000 reserves and the military yesterday declared a swath of Israel just north of Gaza a closed military zone, where movement was restricted. Journalists were prevented from entering as well. The army said schools in towns within 20 kilometers of Gaza would remain closed until further notice.

A temporary 48-hour cease-fire probably won’t satisfy Israel, said Ephraim Kam, a military analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Israel paid a heavy price for this operation and will want to maximize its gains which seem to be quite impressive but the question is how to translate this into political decisions,” he said in a phone interview. “Israel’s interest is to bring about better cease-fire terms, not a temporary one that will break down every couple of months.”

‘No Option’

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel must topple Hamas and appealed for international support of Israel’s military effort to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets from the Gaza Strip.

“We have no option other than to remove the Hamas regime from Gaza,” Netanyahu, head of the Likud Party and a candidate for prime minister in Feb. 10 elections, said today during an interview with Bloomberg Television in Jerusalem.

In Gaza, Hamas didn’t appear ready for a truce.

“As long as the air strikes and killing go on, our support will widen because people see Hamas resisting the occupation,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a telephone interview in Gaza before Israel said it would weigh the French proposal. “The number of fatalities is high but our people have been brutally killed before and we remain steadfast.”

Food, Medicine

Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, seized control of Gaza in 2007 after a brief power-sharing arrangement with Abbas of the rival Fatah party, who called the action a coup.

Israel imposed a blockade on the strip after Hamas took control, periodically lifting restrictions to allow in humanitarian goods. One hundred trucks with food and medicine were allowed into Gaza today, an army spokesman said, speaking anonymously by regulation.

Israel on Dec. 28 struck 40 tunnels dug under Gaza’s border with Egypt to bypass the blockade. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today ruled out opening the border with Gaza until Abbas wins back control of the enclave.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@bloomberg.net; Saud Abu Ramadan in Gaza City through the Tel Aviv newsroomt .

Last Updated: December 30, 2008 16:19 EST