Rome, May 7 (IANS/AKI): The international community needs to strive for a brighter future for those living in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli diplomat said on Monday after a weekend of deadly violence that began during protests at the ongoing Israeli blockade of the area.

"We all need to work together, including Italy, Europe and the United States to create an alternative in the Gaza Strip.

"For all those who live in Gaza and the surrounding area, because we have the duty to give them a better future," Israel's Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs said.

He was speaking during a visit to Rome by 15 Israeli children who suffer from chronic and debilitating diseases.

At least four Israelis and 25 Palestinians were killed in the flare-up of violence over the weekend before a ceasefire began early on Monday.

The Israel Defence Forces said militants had fired 690 rockets into southern Israel, prompting it to target 350 sites belonging to Gaza's ruling Islamist group Hamas and to Islamic Jihad.

It was one of the biggest surges in violence since the July-August 2014 conflict when Israel launched a ground offensive on Gaza following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers.

Israel and Egypt imposed a land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after Hamas took control.