ISRAEL pounded targets across the Gaza Strip yesterday, saying no cease-fire was near as top U.S. and U.N. diplomats pursued talks on halting fighting that has claimed more than 500 lives.

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks in neighboring Egypt, while U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive in Israel later in the day. Both have voiced alarm at mounting civilian casualties.

    However, there was no let-up in the fighting around Gaza. Hamas, the dominant group in the Gaza Strip, and its allies fired more rockets into Israel, triggering sirens in Tel Aviv. One hit a town on the fringes of Ben-Gurion International Airport, lightly injuring two people, officials said.

    Israel launched its offensive July 8 to halt missile salvoes out of Gaza by Hamas, which was angered by a crackdown on its supporters in the occupied West Bank and suffering economic hardship because of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

    “A cease-fire is not near,” said Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, viewed as the most dovish member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner security Cabinet. The Israeli military said it had identified the remains of six soldiers killed in an attack on their armored vehicle in Gaza on Sunday and was trying to identify the seventh.

    Sparking widespread celebrations in Gaza, Hamas’ armed wing announced Sunday that it had captured a soldier. It displayed a photo ID and army serial number of the man, but did not show any image of him in their hands.

    With the conflict entering its third week, the Palestinian death toll rose to 546, including nearly 100 children and many other civilians, Gaza health officials said.

    (SD-Agencies)