JERUSALEM AND CAIRO — After 19 days under Israeli military assault and Egyptian diplomatic pressure, Hamas on Wednesday softened its terms for a cease-fire as fighting in the Gaza Strip pushed the death toll past 1,000.
The Palestinian militant group altered its stance in talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo. It was the first sign of progress toward a deal to end the punishing offensive and halt rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel.
Israel announced that it would send an emissary, Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad, to Cairo today to discuss a cease-fire proposal with officials there.
Fighting in Gaza took another gruesome turn Wednesday. An Israeli airstrike hit a cemetery, shattering headstones and scattering body parts and decaying flesh. Militants in Lebanon provoked an exchange of rocket fire with the Israeli army for the second time in a week, threatening to widen the conflict.
Israel and Hamas were seeking a way out. Hamas' 15,000-man paramilitary force, although still dangerous, has been badly weakened. Israeli officials believe they are close to achieving the goal of the offensive: stopping years of rocket fire from Gaza.
Hamas had previously demanded that Israel halt the offensive, pull its forces from Gaza and lift a crippling blockade of the 140-square-mile territory as a precondition for a cease-fire.
On Wednesday, the group offered a temporary truce that would give Israel five days to withdraw while talks continue on two underlying issues: Hamas' insistence on open borders and Israel's demand for a halt to the smuggling of rocket components and other weapons through tunnels from Egypt into Gaza.
A senior Hamas official in Cairo disclosed the group's new position on condition of anonymity after Egyptian and Hamas officials decided not to comment publicly on the talks.
Hamas altered its terms after Egypt reportedly pressed for a 10-day temporary truce. Israel's air and ground attack also apparently swayed Hamas' leaders in Gaza, who in recent days sounded more open to a deal than did their exiled counterparts in Syria.
Egypt is overseeing the cease-fire talks in part because Israel refuses to negotiate directly with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization.
At the same time, Israel is trying to persuade Egypt to accept international assistance in patrolling its side of the border with Gaza to prevent weapons smuggling. A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official headed to Washington today for talks with U.S. officials on a plan to help Egypt secure the border.
