US Says Expects All Parties To Cease Fire In Gaza

`The goal remains a durable and fully respected ceasefire that will lead to stabilization and normalization in Gaza` Condoleezza Rice said.

The United States welcomed Israel's announcement of a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and expects all parties to stop hostile actions immediately, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Saturday.

"The goal remains a durable and fully respected ceasefire that will lead to stabilization and normalization in Gaza," she said in a written statement after Israel called off its three-week offensive in the area.

"The United States commends Egypt for its efforts and remains deeply concerned by the suffering of innocent Palestinians," Rice added. "We welcome calls for immediate coordinated international action to increase assistance flows and will contribute to such efforts."

In calling off the offensive on Saturday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a televised address that Israel was responding to an appeal from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Olmert said Israel had achieved its aims against the Hamas Islamist group in a campaign that killed more than 1,200 Palestinians.

Hamas was not ready to end its resistance, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the movement, told Reuters in Gaza.