UNITED NATIONS?- The UN Security Council will hold a closed emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip, France said, as Israel threatened a wider offensive in the Palestinian enclave to stem rocket salvoes by Hamas militants.

The French UN mission announced on its Twitter feed that the meeting would be a "closed private debate" beginning at 9:00 pm EST (0200 GMT Thursday). Council diplomats said Israeli and Palestinian envoys would speak at the meeting.