Palestinian and Egyptian officials have outlined the deal, which they say would include an extended period of calm, the lifting of the Israeli embargo on Gaza, and a possible prisoner exchange. Mr. Olmert on Monday denied holding negotiations for a cease-fire, but said that if the militants stopped launching rockets and smuggling weapons into Gaza, Israel would have no reason to fight.

In a meeting with Jordanian newspaper editors, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, criticized the use of rockets by Hamas, a rival, contending that they caused more harm to the Palestinians than to the Israelis. In remarks published in the Jordanian papers on Tuesday, Mr. Abbas said: “What resistance are we talking about? Are rockets and suicide attacks considered as resistance?”

In late February, Mr. Abbas recalled his own role in the early Palestinian resistance and raised questions about his future commitment to peaceful negotiations. “At this time, I object to the armed struggle, since we are unable to conduct it; however, in future stages, things may change,” he was quoted as saying in Al Dustour, a Jordanian daily newspaper, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization.

In Gaza City on Tuesday, a group of young Hamas supporters persuaded dozens of Palestinian livestock owners to take their animals to a demonstration outside the local offices of the United Nations. They were seeking to draw attention to the blockade, in which Israel has for months allowed only essential goods, mostly supplied by relief organizations, into Gaza.

The livestock owners were paid 100 shekels each (about $28) to attend the protest, as well as transportation costs. Hundreds of animals  sheep, camels and donkeys  came from all over Gaza. Fatah supporters refused to take part.

Ashraf Abu Amrah, 24, who came with 16 donkeys, said he had to support more than 20 relatives on about $10 a day. He used to make a lot of money with his donkey carts, transporting cement for construction projects, he said. Now cement is in short supply and the price of hay has doubled because of the blockade, he said.

Another demonstrator, Muhammad Dagmush, 45, said if he fed his horse as well as he wanted, “I wouldn’t eat.”