France`s Sarkozy To Meet Israel`s Livni On Jan. 1

In a brief statement, Sarkozy`s office said the meeting would take place at 1430 GMT on Thursday at the presidential palace.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday, the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday, as pressure built on Israel to agree a truce to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

In a brief statement, Sarkozy's office said the meeting would take place at 1430 GMT on Thursday at the presidential palace. It gave no further details.

France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union until Wednesday, has proposed a 48-hour ceasefire to allow aid into the Gaza Strip, which has been hit by four days of Israeli attacks.

Israel, which launched the strikes in retaliation against rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled area, has said it is willing to consider ways to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

France hosted a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.