Israel rejects calls for ceasefire as 'unrealistic'

ISRAEL today rejected calls for a Gaza ceasefire hours after Iranian protesters stormed the British embassy in Tehran - the latest sign of growing international tension over the five-day offensive.

Officials in Tel Aviv said the EU foreign ministers' call for a 48-hour halt in fighting to allow more humanitarian supplies into Gaza was unrealistic.

The rebuff came as British diplomats in Tehran recovered after dozens of demonstrators stormed their embassy and reportedly hauled down the Union Jack, hoisting the Palestinian flag in its place. They stayed for about an hour before police forced them to leave. The Foreign Office confirmed the incident, which will raise concerns about embassy security, but said no one was hurt.

The incursion reflects increasing tension in Iran -where militant clerics has been signing up volunteers to fight in Gaza - and elsewhere in the Arab world over the conflict, which began at the weekend when Israel launched bombing raids in an attempt to halt repeated rocket attacks on its territory.

In a sign of the increasing threat from rockets, one last night struck the city of Beersheba, 26 miles from Gaza, although there were no reported casualties. Two more fell in the area early today. Israeli officials indicated today that this continuing threat lay behind its rejection of a ceasefire, despite a worldwide clamour for a halt to violence that has caused about 374 Palestinian and four Israeli deaths - the latter from rockets.

The Israeli rebuff came after an appeal by the Quartet of Middle-East peace brokers - the US, the UN, the EU and Russia - and EU foreign ministers for the truce.

Britain today stepped up pressure for a ceasefire. International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "There are literally thousands suffering. The need for food, for fuel, for medical supplies, is real."