Even as Israel and Gaza's militants continue their cross-border assaults into their 11th day, with Israeli warplanes carrying out new airstrikes and Palestinians launching more missiles, a senior Hamas official has predicted a truce within days.
US Vice President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to pursue a "de-escalation" on the road to a peace agreement.
According to an Egyptian security source, the sides had agreed in principle to a truce with the help of mediators, but specifics were still being worked out behind closed doors.
"I believe the ongoing ceasefire efforts will succeed," Moussa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas political official, told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV.
"Within a day or two, I expect a ceasefire to be reached, and the ceasefire will be based on mutual agreement."
Doha-based According to Al Jazeera, United Nations Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar.
The war, however, continued, with both Israel and Islamist militants expressing their displeasure.
After midnight, Israel launched over a dozen airstrikes on Gaza, including two that demolished two homes in the enclave's south.
An airstrike on the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza injured four civilians, according to medics.
Israel's military said its aircraft hit an "arms storage facility" in a Hamas official's home in Gaza City, as well as "military infrastructure" in the homes of other Hamas commanders, including in Khan Younis, early today.
In the southern Israeli town of Beersheba and areas bordering Gaza, rocket sirens were heard.
There were no signs of injuries or property damage right away.
Palestinian health officials say 228 civilians have been killed in aerial bombardments since the fighting started on May 10th, worsening Gaza's already dire humanitarian situation.
The death toll in Israel has risen to 12 as a result of repeated rocket attacks, which have sparked confusion and sent people fleeing to shelters.
Biden wants a "major de-escalation" of the situation.
Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly praised what he describes as US support for Israel's right to self-defense in the face of threats from Gaza, which is home to two million people.
In a phone call, however, President Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that it was time to reduce the severity of the conflict.
According to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, "the president communicated to the prime minister that he expects a major de-escalation today on the road to a ceasefire."
Diplomacy has been used by Washington and other Middle Eastern capitals to try to put an end to the bloodshed.
The 193-member United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to meet on the dispute today, with several foreign ministers in attendance, but no action is planned.
The US mission stated that it would not endorse a French push for a Security Council resolution, claiming that such acts would "undermine attempts to de-escalate" conflict.
On May 10, Hamas started shooting rockets in retaliation for what it called Israeli rights violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem during Ramadan.
Israeli police clashed with worshippers at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israeli settlers filed a court case to expel Palestinians from a neighborhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.
The hostilities are the most extreme between Hamas and Israel in years, and they have helped spark street violence in Israeli cities between Jewish and Arab Israelis, in contrast to previous Gaza conflicts.
The dispute has also spilled over into Lebanon, escalating unrest in the occupied West Bank.
The military said four rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon yesterday, the third such incident since the Gaza conflict began. There was no admission of guilt.
Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the West Bank who the military said had fired a rifle at troops and civilians.
According to Palestinian officials, at least 21 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops or other incidents in the West Bank since May 10.
