* Diplomatic efforts to resolve conflict intensifies
* Arab League condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza
* Coming Up: U.S. existing home sales; 1500 GMT (Updates prices)
By Luke Pachymuthu
SINGAPORE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose to almost $110 a barrel on Monday as escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians fuelled concerns about supplies from the Middle East.
Investors fear the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may drawn in other countries and possibly threaten supply from the region, which supplies more than a third of the world's crude.
Brent crude for January delivery gained 88 cents to $109.83 a barrel by 0703 GMT. U.S. oil also rose $1 to $87.92.
"If the situation starts to deteriorate further where we see other oil producers getting involved and backing the rhetoric with action, then you could see an extension on the risk premium," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
"The market will definitely be seeking a clearer assessment of the current situation."
An Israeli missile killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians, including four children, in Gaza on Sunday, the single deadliest incident in five days of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Pressure for a ceasefire is rising. Egypt has taken the lead in trying to broker an agreement and Israeli media said a delegation from Israel had been to Cairo for talks on ending the fighting, although a government spokesman declined to comment.
The Israeli military said 544 rockets fired from Gaza had hit Israel since Wednesday, killing civilians and wounding dozens. It has also been giving signs of a possible ground invasion into Gaza.
FISCAL CLIFF
As Middle East tensions remained on the boil, investors remained focused on the looming "fiscal cliff" in the United States -- the more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to push the economy back into recession if they kick in at the start of 2013.
Top lawmakers emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday confident of finding common ground on taxes and spending to help them avert the disastrous situation.
"If we don't get any deal, and the automatic provisions kick in, it will be a massive blow to economic confidence globally," Spooner said.
"And any attempt to just kick this down the road for a later date is also going to have negative implications for the global economy, not just the United States." (Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Miral Fahmy)
