Even if the 15 council members reach a unanimous decision, the measure is unlikely to be adopted Wednesday, given procedural rules requiring 24 hours before a resolution can be passed, the diplomats said.

The council could hold a new, foreign minister-level meeting in the coming days, with the participation of at least eight Arab countries, said Sudan's Ambassador to the United Nations Abdalmahmud Abdalhaleem Mohamad.

Foreign ministers from Arab League nations meeting in Cairo on Wednesday called for a binding UN resolution requiring an immediate halt to hostilities.

A delegation of foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, including a Palestinian representative and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, headed by Saudi Arabia's top diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal, will visit UN headquarters, Mohamad said.

The Sudanese ambassador said a Security Council meeting with these representatives could be held on Sunday or Monday.

According to a copy obtained by AFP, the draft resolution to be presented 'strongly condemns all military attacks and the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel, the occupying power'. It also 'calls for an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect by both sides'.

The draft appears to have been amended since an initial version was released to the press in Cairo. It no longer includes a call for Israel to stop its 'barbaric' aggression, lift its blockade of Gaza and stop the 'collective punishment' of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who has not exercised control over the Gaza Strip since the Hamas Islamist movement gained control of the region in June 2007, also appealed on Wednesday for a UN resolution imposing a ceasefire.

A spokesman for Mr Abbas said he would meet on Monday with the UN Security Council to discuss the situation.

Top diplomats around the world have been urging action to halt Israel's deadliest-ever offensive on Gaza.

The actions have so far lasted five days, killed nearly 400 Palestinians and left more than 1,900 wounded, according to Gaza emergency services. -- AFP