Hamas Orders Fighters to Hold Fire, Says Truce With Israel Could Be Renewed

JERUSALEM, Dec. 22 -- The Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas faction on Monday ordered gunmen to hold their fire for 24 hours and said a truce with Israel could be restored, but as rockets continued to fall, Israel signaled that it was preparing for a possible offensive.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 10 television, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar indicated that the Palestinian Islamist group is interested in renewing the truce with Israel.

"The price is the lives of the Palestinian people," he said, demanding regular food and electricity supplies from Israel along with an end to Israeli military actions in the West Bank as well as Gaza.

Israel did not agree to halt operations in the West Bank under the truce, which expired Friday, and Israeli officials refused to comment on the interview.

Hamas said gunmen were told Monday to halt rocket fire for 24 hours to see if Israel would allow vital supplies to be shipped into Gaza.

Smaller Palestinian factions that also attack Israel, including Islamic Jihad, said they received no such order, and another Hamas official, Ayman Taha, threatened a renewal of suicide bombings in Israel.

The Israeli military said three rockets were fired by nightfall, far fewer than in previous days, but a military spokesman, Maj. Peter Lerner, said the cargo crossings remained sealed Monday. Israel routinely seals its border with Gaza in response to rocket fire.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who brokered the initial truce, invited Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to Cairo on Thursday to discuss a new deal, Livni's office said.

Officials in her office said Livni was prepared to listen but would also complain about the hundreds of rockets and mortar shells that have been fired at Israel in the past month. The renewed attacks have stepped up pressure on the government to respond with force.

Israeli officials said the government has dispatched diplomats to win international sympathy for the plight of Israelis within range of the rocket fire -- a reflection of the fact that most world attention has been focused on hardships in Gaza.

Since Hamas overran Gaza last year, Israel has severely limited shipments through its crossings with the territory, and shortages are widespread. Israel accuses Hamas of manipulating supplies for propaganda purposes.

"People abroad perhaps do not understand the real distress of Israelis in the south who live with the rocket threat," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. "Then you wake up in the morning with an Israeli response, and you don't understand where it came from."

The new diplomatic offensive sent an indirect message to Hamas that Israel is ready to act. Still, analysts say they believe both sides want to renew the truce, which held for five months before unraveling in November and ending formally Friday.

Past incursions have not stopped the rocket fire, and an Israeli operation into Gaza's dense urban landscape would likely mean heavy casualties on both sides.

"There is real concern in the military and the Defense Ministry about the price, and they are trying everything not to go into Gaza," said Reuven Pedatzur, a military analyst at Tel Aviv University.