Israeli officials have insisted that they will not halt the offensive until Egypt puts an anti-smuggling mechanism in place. But Israel's position was unclear Wednesday after Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested a weeklong "humanitarian" cease-fire, only to be reprimanded by other officials for airing proposals in public.
Even if a truce is achieved soon, it would probably take more than a few days to resolve the issues of Gaza's borders.
Hamas demands that Israel and Egypt open Gaza's border crossings to commerce, fuel and human passage. Both countries have tightened a blockade since Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction and has close ties to Islamic foes of Egypt's government, seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the more moderate Fatah faction that now runs the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
Israel has been reluctant to tie a cease-fire deal to a reopening of its border crossings. And Egypt insists that its border with Gaza can be open only if the European Union and the Palestinian Authority place monitors inside Gaza, a condition Hamas rejects.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the region Wednesday to press the U.N. Security Council's call last week for an immediate and "durable" cease-fire. International criticism of Israel has mounted, with Bolivia breaking off diplomatic relations.
"It is intolerable that civilians bear the brunt of this conflict," Ban said in Cairo after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
An Israeli coalition of eight human rights groups issued the same message, directed at Israel. It said the military offensive had put Gaza's 1.5 million residents "in extreme humanitarian distress."
The coalition urged Israel to stop targeting civilian areas, open routes for civilians to escape battle zones and allow for the restoration of normal medical care, electricity, water and other essential services.
Col. Moshe Levy, commander of the Defense Ministry's Gaza Liaison Office, denied there was a humanitarian crisis. He said Israel had allowed more than 1,000 truckloads of food, medical supplies and other aid to enter Gaza since the offensive began Dec. 27. He said he suspected Hamas fighters were stealing some of the aid.
Military officials have set up a special operations center in Tel Aviv to help improve aid groups' delivery of emergency supplies to Gaza.
