CAIRO: Egypt is to pass Hamas favorable response to a Gaza ceasefire plan to Israel, Egyptian officials said on Wednesday, as the death toll from Israel s war in the territory topped 1,000 Palestinians. The announcement came a day before a senior Israeli official is to visit Egypt, which has been at the center of international efforts to broker an end to the 19-day-old war that has also wounded more than 4,500 Gazans. Hamas has reacted favorably to Egyptian efforts to end Palestinian bloodshed during discussions (in Cairo) over the past three days, the state MENA news agency quoted an official as saying without identifying him. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said earlier that Hamas had told Egypt its position on the truce proposal, which Egypt would give to an Israeli official due in Cairo on Thursday. We will tell the Israelis what we have obtained from our brothers Hamas, Aboul Gheit said. There are Hamas positions that we will discuss with the Israelis in the context of all the elements of President (Hosni) Mubarak s initiative. We hope that things will move forwards but we will not enter into details. Two members of the Islamists exiled political leadership left Cairo for Damascus on Wednesday after discussions with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Gaza-based Hamas leaders, an airport source said. Amos Gilad, a senior aide to Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, is due in Cairo on Thursday to discuss recent developments in Egyptian and international initiatives, an Israeli official said. He is planning also to meet Suleiman, Egypt s pointman for Israeli-Palestinian relations, the source added. Aboul Gheit said that Mubarak s plan, launched on Jan. 6, calls for an immediate ceasefire and acceptance of withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. He said that the opening of crossing points into the beleaguered territory requires talks on who must be on the crossing points and if the presence of other parties is required... we will discuss this.
