The Secretary-General of the Arab League (AL) Nabil Al-Arabi and several Arab foreign ministers will visit the Gaza Strip where Israel has embarked on a military operation, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said Saturday.

Saeb Erekat, a senior PNA official, said Al-Arabi told him that he will visit the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave along with as many Arab ministers as possible in response to a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad al-Maliki will accompany the AL's delegation into Gaza, Erekat added. The PNA has been based in the West Bank since Islamic Hamas took over the territory by force in 2007.

The visit of Al-Arabi comes days after Egypt and Tunisia sent their prime minister and foreign minister respectively in a solidarity movement with Gaza.

The delegation will inspect the damage in Gaza, where Israel has carried out more than 600 airstrikes since Wednesday, killing about 40 Palestinians and wounding hundreds others. Endi