(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-20 21:50

CAIRO -- The Arab League (AL) Council will hold an emergency meeting on January 21 on the ongoing Israeli military actions in the Palestinian territories which caused dozens of Palestinian deaths, a senior official of the Cairo-based Arab bloc said on Sunday.

The meeting at the level of permanent delegates will be taking place at the joint request of the AL and the Palestinian National Authority, AL Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Ahmed ben Heli was quoted by the Egyptian MENA news agency as saying.

The AL meeting, to be attended by AL Secretary General Amr Moussa, will cover the latest developments in Gaza and Israel's continued attacks in Gaza Strip and West Bank, said Heli.

More than 37 Palestinians, including at least 11 civilians, have been killed in air and artillery bombings since Israel launched the offensive on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Sunday said it had fired over 200 homemade missile weapons, including 160 Qassam rockets, into southern Israel in six days as part of its response to the Israeli offensive into Gaza.