Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect contacts about ideas for cementing a long-term truce in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas source said Tuesday.

The contacts have gone through a number of Arab and European channels in a bid to firm up an informal ceasefire agreement that took hold last August, ending a 50-day war in Gaza.

"There has been indirect contact between Israel and Hamas, messages passed via Arab channels as well as through European and Turkish sources," one of the sources told AFP, describing it as "an indirect exchange of ideas."

According to AFP, the contacts were confirmed by an Israeli source.