The European Union called a halt on Wednesday to plans to upgrade diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, as Egypt stepped up efforts to secure a 10-day ceasefire to provide a first step to ending the Gaza war.

In the latest sign of the international backlash against Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 1,000 Palestinians dead, Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, head of a European Commission delegation to Israel, said upgrading ties at a time when Israel was "using its war means in a very dramatic, in a powerful way in Gaza" was "not appropriate".