Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts 

    BERLIN, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during a telephone conversation on Monday night, agreed that Palestine-Israel disputes should be resolved within an agreed political framework.

    They said the current tense situation in the region should not be allowed to get worse, according to a statement posted on the German foreign ministry's website.

    Israel launched massive air raids against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, while Hamas shelled Israeli territory after a six-month ceasefire which ended on Dec. 19.

    The death toll on the Palestinian side has risen to 345 and more than 1,600 have been injured in the ongoing airstrikes, according to Palestinian security sources.

    Abbas and Steinmeier said the conflict was not only a humanitarian and political disaster for Gaza residents, but also a huge potential factor to cause more volatility in the whole Middle East region.

    Steinmeier said Hamas should immediately stop its assault on Israeli towns, adding that an important task currently was to provide urgent aid for Gaza residents.

    Abbas informed Steinmeier of the Arab world's plan to solve the Palestine-Israel conflict at the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting scheduled on Dec. 31.

    In a statement released on Sunday, Steinmeier said: "Israel must do everything possible to avoid civilian victims."