"We want to give more time, but not unlimited time" to the negotiations, an Israeli government spokesman said. Israel would then temporarilyand "suspended" plans for the ground offensive in Gaza, to allow time for negotiations until Thursday.
According to pan-Arab TV al-Arabiya, the signing of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would only be a matter of hours, thanks also to the mediation intervention of the Egyptian premier Mohammed Mursi, who worked to prepare the agreement between the parties. The situation would actually be more complicated, but we continue to negotiate. Among the conditions reported by Saudi television there would be the end of the Israeli embargo on the Gaza Strip and the opening of the borders with the Palestinian enclave.
In the meantime, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon also spoke during a press conference with Nabil el-Arabi, head of the Arab League: "There is no time to lose to put an end to the violence".
