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Hamas is currently holding talks with the other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip on renewing a cease-fire with Israel, Israel Radio quoted a senior official in the organization as telling the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Alawsat on Saturday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the proposal under discussion was an unconditional bilateral cease-fire with Israel.

In Kuwait, senior Lebanon-based Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Saturday that the Palestinian side was considering an Israeli offer for an indefinite truce, the radio said.
Nonetheless, Hamdan stressed, Hamas opposes a diplomatic agreement with Israel and views the country's existence as a threat to the entire region, and not just the Palestinians.

Also Saturday, Army Radio quoted an unnamed Hamas official as telling the Saudi newspaper Al-Jazeera that the organization was pressuring Islamic Jihad to halt the incessant firing of Qassam rockets at Israeli towns.

On Friday, Two Israel Defense Forces reservists were lightly wounded when Palestinian militants detonated an explosive device near the security fence at the Kissufim Crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip.

Also Friday, three Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza. One struck south of the Negev city of Ashkelon, another an open field near Sderot and the third appeared to have landed inside Gaza, Israel Radio reported. No injuries or damages were reported in the incident.

The IDF has said it would continue its attacks against militants in the Gaza Strip despite calls by the Hamas leadership for a possible temporary calm.

Defense officials say the heavy pressure on the militants is making progress, and there will be room to consider a change to the offensive only if Hamas imposes on other militant factions a moratorium on Qassam rocket attacks.

Meanwhile, a Hamas militant was killed Friday morning by IDF fire in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis on Friday, the Palestinian Islamist group and medical workers said.

The IDF Spokesman's Office, however, said it was not aware of any exchange of fire in the area.

Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may consider talks with Hamas on a long-term cease-fire. But, as part of such a deal, Hamas must not only stop the rocket fire, but also cease smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip from Egypt and open talks for the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas-affiliated militants last year, Ben-Eliezer said.

"The prime minister I know doesn't totally rule anything out," Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio. "If a serious, realistic proposal is put on the table and Hamas is willing to discuss a long-term cease-fire and is willing to stop the terror, to stop the smugglings and is willing to open talks on the release of Gilad Shalit, I would go to negotiations."

In an IDF operation Thursday in the central Gaza Strip, one soldier was seriously injured and seven Palestinian gunmen were killed. A number of Qassam rockets and mortar shells were fired on the western Negev, with one rocket landing near a school in Sderot. There were no injuries.

Security sources: IDF pressure led to Hamas calls for truce
Security sources said analyses by the IDF and Shin Bet security service concluded that Israel's military pressure on the Gaza militants led to the recent announcement by former Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh on the need for a cease-fire.

The Israeli side, including the office of Prime Minister Olmert, has deep suspicions about the Hamas offer for a cease-fire, and there is no support for any form of negotiations. However, if Haniyeh manages to rein in the militants and offers a tahadiyeh (calm) in a few months, Israel may respond positively.

The military pressure on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is only aggravating an already difficult economic situation, made harder by the sanctions limiting the flow of goods and fuel to Gaza. There are also restrictions on Gazans from leaving the area through the Rafah crossing on the border with the Sinai Peninsula.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak congratulated the security forces Thursday for their recent operations in which more than 20 militants were killed.

The political leadership is also pleased that the IDF attacks have been precise and have not harmed civilians.

However, they acknowledge that the efforts to stem the rocket attacks are not effective, and there is renewed support for reinforcing Sderot and the nearby towns with an inflow of NIS 320 million for fortifying secure areas.

During the operation in central Gaza Thursday, one IDF soldier was seriously injured, three others were lightly hurt, and seven Palestinian gunmen were killed.

The fighting took place Thursday morning in al-Ma'azi, an area near the center of the enclave, about 2.5 kilometers from the border fence.

An infantry force, supported by armor and combat engineers, was carrying out what the IDF described as a "routine mission" when it came under fire. Fighting continued throughout the day, and in one case an RPG rocket was fired against a squad of IDF soldiers, seriously injuring one.