In Cairo, attempts to negotiate a ceasefire seemed to take a step forward. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority were believed to be discussing a temporary ceasefire of five days in which talks for an easing of the joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza could begin, though Hamas has yet to agree. It was unclear whether that would be acceptable to the Israelis. Last week they accepted an Egyptian unconditional ceasefire proposal, but have since begun a ground invasion and say that will not be stopped until it has destroyed the network of tunnels Hamas uses to infiltrate fighters into Israel.