Hamas says gives Egypt ideas on Gaza truce

By Alaa Shahine

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Palestinian movement Hamas has presented Egyptian mediators a "detailed vision" on how to carry out a truce initiative proposed by Cairo, which will now relay this vision to Israel, Hamas officials said on Wednesday.

The Islamist group, which rules the Gaza Strip, said it has no objections to the broad ideas of the Egyptian initiative to bring an end to Israel's 19-day offensive on the coastal enclave, which has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians.

But a Hamas source said the group gave Egypt its views on how to carry out essential parts of the cease-fire plan, including the operation of the Rafah crossing and was seeking assurances that Israel would lift its blockade on the strip.

"The movement has presented a detailed vision to the Egyptian leadership so that it (Egypt) can continue its pursuit to end the aggression and lift the injustice on our people in the Gaza Strip," Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil said.

"The Egyptian leadership will ... discuss (the views) with the aggressor to reach the goals that we want. During this period we will monitor," he told a news conference after talks with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo.

Israeli officials were expected in Cairo on Thursday to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence officials.

Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, said earlier on Wednesday that points of difference remained over the Egyptian plan.

The Egyptian proposal calls for a temporary cease-fire, followed by a long-term truce and the opening of Gaza's border crossings in the presence of officials from the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces Hamas drove out of Gaza in 2007.