An Arab League delegation headed by the bloc's chief Nabil al-Arabi will visit Gaza on Tuesday in a show of support for the territory in the face of Israeli air strikes, a league official said.

"The Arab ministerial delegation formed by the Arab foreign ministerial council will visit Gaza on Tuesday, headed by Nabil al-Arabi," the official said in a statement .

A ground invasion of the Gaza Strip would lose Israel much international sympathy and support, British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Sunday.

Hague told Sky News television it was much more difficult to limit civilian casualties in a ground assault and it would threaten to prolong the conflict.

Iran expects regional countries to send weapons to the Palestinians to help them fight Israel, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday.

"Although political measures taken by the regional countries are admirable, they are definitely not sufficient," Larijani said in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel is ready to "significantly expand" its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as it entered its fifth day.

"The army is prepared to significantly expand the operation," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "The soldiers are ready for any activity that could take place."

Talks on the possibility of a truce to end five days of violence in and around Gaza are under way, and a deal could be reached "today or tomorrow," a Palestinian official told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

"There are serious talks to reach a truce, and it is possible that understandings will be reached today or tomorrow," the senior official said.

Jordan's King Abdullah II called for an immediate halt to Israeli "aggression" against Gaza as he received Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Sunday, the royal palace said.

The monarch stressed "the need to speed up regional and international efforts to bring an immediate halt to Israeli aggression and military escalation," it said in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius left Paris Sunday for Israel "to call on all the parties to stop the escalation and offer France's help to reach an immediate ceasefire," his ministry said.

During his one-day trip, the minister will meet with the Israeli authorities and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, his ministry said in a statement.

Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed 26 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its massive air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified.

With Egypt at the center of efforts to broker a ceasefire, Palestinian officials said it was possible a deal would be reached "today or tomorrow."

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi will head a delegation to Gaza in a show of solidarity after Arab ministers decided on Saturday to review their diplomacy towards Israel and show their support for the Palestinians.

The delegation will travel to Gaza "to affirm solidarity with the Palestinians," a League statement said after the foreign ministers' meeting. Arabi told reporters it would head for the enclave either on Sunday or Monday.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated near the Israeli embassy in London on Saturday, waving placards and chanting slogans like "From London to Ramallah organize the intifada".

Speakers on a podium condemned the British government after Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Hamas regime running the Gaza Strip bore "principal responsibility" for the escalation of violence.