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The main demands of Israel and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, in ceasefire negotiations facilitated by Egypt.

Hamas

The exiled leader of the Islamist movement, Khaled Mashaal, listed three main demands.

Israel must be the first to end the fighting, he said, because it started the offensive.

It must lift its blockade of Gaza, imposed in 2006. Israel eased the blockade in 2010, but exports remain highly restricted and the sea blockade remains in place.

Currently weapons and items which Israel says can be used by militants in their activity against it, such as concrete for building tunnels and pipes for producing rockets, are banned from entering the coastal enclave.

Israel must promise not to resume targeted killings of Hamas leaders.

Israel

The Jewish State's main demand is a guarantee that any truce will be long term.

The periodic rounds of violence have upset daily life in its southern towns and villages and Israel aims to send a message that this is no longer acceptable.

The goal of the Gaza offensive is to restore calm in southern Israel for a "long, long time," Israeli officials told dpa, adding: "We will not compromise on that objective."