PARIS -- France made a fresh push for a ceasefire in Gaza on Thursday as Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni arrived in Paris for talks despite Israel's rejection of calls for a temporary truce.

President Nicolas Sarkozy was to welcome Livni at the Elysee presidential palace ahead of his trip to Israel and the West Bank on Monday, part of a Mideast tour will include stops in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

It will be the first visit by the leader of a major power to the region since Israel began its military offensive against Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip six days ago.

With the death toll from the violence in Gaza rising to 400, Israel faced strong international pressure to agree to a ceasefire and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was not interested in a "long war."

After touching down in Paris, Livni headed directly into talks with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner whose call for a 48-hour truce was rejected by Israel on Wednesday, an Israeli embassy official said.

Kouchner this week hosted a meeting of European Union foreign ministers who called for a ceasefire while the Middle East Quartet made up of the EU, Russia, the United Nations and the United States also appealed for peace.

Pope Benedict XVI added his voice on Thursday saying he hoped "violence, hatred and mistrust" would not prevail in the world in 2009, notably in the Middle East.

Defending Israel's refusal to halt its military offensive, Livni said Wednesday that Hamas would use the truce to gain "a better position for the next attack" from Gaza, which they control since June 2007.

Olmert told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that conditions were not ripe to halt air strikes, launched in response to persistent rocket fire from the Hamas-held territory.

France wrapped up its six-month stint as president of the European Union with a proposal for a 48-hour truce in Gaza to allow for humanitarian relief.

In a New Year's message, Sarkozy said it was France's duty to "seek a path towards peace" after Israel launched the biggest military operation in Gaza in decades and amid mounting concern over civilian casualties.

Sarkozy was to hold talks with Livni at 4 pm (1500 GMT).

The French leader has made clear he intends to continue playing an active role in European diplomatic efforts even as the Czech Republic takes the helm of the EU.

Sarkozy will travel to Cairo on Monday for a working lunch with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose government is seeking to renew an Israel-Hamas ceasefire brokered in 2008 and which expired in late December.

He then travels to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who has appealed for a ceasefire. A ministerial delegation from the European Union will also be present at the meeting.

Sarkozy ends his visit to Israel with a working dinner with Olmert in Jerusalem on Monday evening.

The UN Security Council meanwhile began consultations on a draft resolution proposed by Libya on behalf of a group of Arab countries condemning Israel for use of "excessive" force and calling for an immediate ceasefire.