ANKARA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday talked on phone with some of his European counterparts as part of his efforts to bring an end to the Israeli assault on Gaza, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

    Erdogan phoned Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, the report said.

    The leaders discussed the issues of delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the immediate call for a ceasefire in the region, said the report, adding that Erdogan urged for cooperation and reiterated his country's call on the international community to take urgent action.

    Erdogan had paid official visits to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia last week to meet Middle East leaders in a bid to end the violence in Gaza.

    He has slammed Israel's Gaza operation, saying the disproportional use of force causes a "humanitarian tragedy".

    Meanwhile, the Turkish parliament would meet to discuss the Gaza issue on Tuesday, said the report, quoting Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek.

    Cicek said Turkey would be prepared to send troops to Gaza if this move contributes to peace efforts.

    "Turkey sent soldiers to many countries in the world in order to contribute to peace. Turkey has proved its sincerity in terms of peace," he said.

    Turkey has condemned Israel for the ground offensive and called on the Jewish state to immediately end its operation in Gaza, and appealed to the U.N. Security Council to take steps to end the violence.

    The Israeli offensive, which Israel said was in retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks entered the tenth day on Monday, as the Palestinian death toll from the offensive surpassed 500.