Clinton to join Gaza ceasefire effort Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is heading to Israel, adding weight to the growing international effort for a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas group. Israeli officials said they expected Mrs Clinton, who was with President Barack Obama in Cambodia, to arrive either late on Tuesday or early Wednesday. She is also expected to meet Egyptian leaders in Cairo and Palestinian officials in Ramallah. The US, which has backed Israel's right to self-defence, regards Hamas as a terrorist group and therefore does not meet its officials. Amid mounting diplomatic pressure from world leaders, the Israeli security cabinet decided in a meeting overnight to hold off on a ground invasion of Gaza. A decision was taken to give diplomacy more time - not unlimited time, but time. In parallel, the military option is being prepared," one Israeli official said. The violence continued into its seventh day, marked by reports of further Israeli airstrikes, including the battering of a Hamas-affiliated bank in Gaza and a rocket fired from Gaza towards Jerusalem that landed outside the city. The death toll reached 116, the Associated Press reported. Three Israelis have died, while Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has intercepted more than 300 rockets, AP said. The decision to send Mrs Clinton to Israel follows intensified efforts by Egypt to end Israel's Gaza offensive, where a senior official said on Monday that there were "encouraging signs" that the two sides were ready to seek a ceasefire. Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi said on Tuesday that Israeli attacks on Gaza would end later in the day, Reuters reported, citing state media. "The efforts to conclude a truce between the Palestinian and Israeli sides will produce positive results in the next few hours," Mr Morsi was quoted as saying. In a meeting with Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, on Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, said that a ceasefire needed to include a "long-range agreement," the Haaretz newspaper reported. The report added that Mr Netanyahu said he preferred a diplomatic solution, but if that did not happen the country had the right to defend itself "by other means." The comments echo those made by Israeli officials over the past few days that they are ready in principle to strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas, but that any such agreement must guarantee durable calm for Israeli regions exposed to rocket fire from Gaza. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, speaking in Cairo on Tuesday, urged both sides to "halt fire immediately," warning that the violence could put the entire region at risk.