Paris- French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Israel of using disproportionate violence in its attacks on the Gaza Strip Saturday.

The bombardment must stop immediately, Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said in Paris.

Sarkozy also condemned the launching of rockets by Palestinian militants on Israel from the Gaza Strip and called for an end to the "unjustifiable provocation" that had led to the current situation.

There was no military solution in the Gaza Strip, he said.

Airstrikes by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) directed at militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip killed 155 people on Saturday, the highest one-day death toll in the salient since the 1967 Middle East War.

More than 300 people were injured in the strikes, security and medical officials said. (dpa)