Egyptian efforts to promote a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are still going on and have not failed, a Hamas official said Saturday. Hamas has "received Israel's response to the Egyptian initiative and handed out the Egyptians some more questions and now wait Israel's clarifications," said Ahmed Yousef, an aide to Hamas' deposed premier Ismail Haniya. The Islamic movement "will make its decision after it gets the Israeli response on the questions it raised," Yousef was quoted as saying by DPA. Egypt proposed a six-month ceasefire starting in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the Palestinian factions accepted the offer but Israel insisted on the release of an Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas since June 2006.
