Abbas, Kerry discuss ceasefire in Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to work jointly to ensure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a media report here said.

Abbas and Kerry discussed recent developments in Gaza over phone, where violence between Israel and Palestinian militants has claimed about 80 Palestinians' lives, Xinhua reported.

The two leaders agreed to keep contacts in order to contain the crisis as soon as possible.

Kerry, who is in China on an official visit, said de-escalating the crisis was ultimately in everyone's interests, also adding that no country could accept such rocket attacks, which referring to the attack by Hamas on Israeli southern cities.

Israeli launched a military operation Tuesday to curb fire rockets from Gaza over the past few days.

Despite the intensive air strikes on military and civilian sites across the territory ruled by Islamic Hamas movement, hundreds of rockets from Gaza have rocked several southern cities in Israel.