* Gold rises over 2 pct on strong oil, Israel-Hamas violence * Gold gains 30 percent from 13-month low struck in Oct * Dollar slips against euro (Adds quotes, updates prices) By Lewa Pardomuan SINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than 2 percent on Monday to its strongest since early October after violence between Israel and Hamas pushed up oil prices on fears of supply disruptions, and spurred safe-haven buying in bullion. Other precious metals tracked gold higher but thin trading ahead of the year-end could also exaggerate movements. At least 300 Palestinians were killed in two days of attacks as Israel stepped up air strikes and prepared for a possible invasion. By 0210 GMT, gold traded at $887.05 an ounce, up $20.25 from New York's notional close, having hit an intraday high of $889.55 on Monday. Bullion has recovered more than 30 percent since tumbling to a 13-month low of $680.80 in late October. "From a gold perspective, prices are certainly likely to move higher on any tensions, wars and uncertainty. But what was more surprising was the timing of the violence between Israel and Hamas," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "That's the thing that caught everyone by surprise. The markets are still very much in thinned-holiday trade and the news of the violence basically spurred buying and pushed prices past key resistance levels." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for an immediate end to all violence in Gaza. [ID:nN28295404] Gold last traded above $900 in early October and hit a lifetime high of $1,030.80 in March, partly driven by fears of rising energy costs as oil struck a record. Oil rose more than $2 to above $39 a barrel in reaction to the violence in Gaza, lifting gold's safe-haven appeal in times of turmoil. [O/R] "Whether or not we'll see a reversal, given that there is not a great deal of activity out there, is debatable. I suspect we may remain elevated for the rest of the day," said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney, referring to gold prices. "The fact that it's sort of stalled where it is might well prevent it from breaking through $900 but I guess there's still a chance when London opens and they really soak up the news about the troubles in the Middle East. Maybe, there will be some more buying as a result," he said. A weaker U.S. dollar could also support gold, with the euro rising to $1.4127 on expectations the U.S. economic slowdown will continue into 2009. [USD/] Platinum traded at $928.00 an ounce, up $39.50 from New York's notional close. New York gold futures added $18.40 an ounce to $889.6 in electronic trade. Precious metals prices at 0203 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 887.05 20.25 +2.34 6.53 Spot Silver 10.91 0.27 +2.54 -26.13 Spot Platinum 928.00 39.50 +4.45 -38.95 Spot Palladium 175.00 0.50 +0.29 -52.45 TOCOM Gold 2593.00 119.00 +4.81 -15.26 26792 TOCOM Platinum 2716.00 138.00 +5.35 -49.13 6980 TOCOM Silver 318.80 18.20 +6.05 -41.07 284 TOCOM Palladium 538.00 27.00 +5.28 -60.18 153 Euro/Dollar 1.4161 Dollar/Yen 90.63 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Anshuman Daga)

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