Hamas informed Egypt on Thursday that it was willing to accept a cease-fire with Israel in Gaza on condition that it later be extended to the West Bank. Defense officials in Jerusalem said they were not surprised by Hamas's decision to accept the Egyptian proposal but that it would take some time before Israel formulated its position.

Sources close to Hamas said the movement agreed to the "Gaza first" cease-fire after receiving assurances from the Egyptians that they would continue to work to extend the truce to the West Bank. They said Hamas was still insisting on a timetable for applying the cease-fire to the West Bank.

The two Gazans arrived in Cairo after holding consultations in Damascus with the top Hamas leadership. Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal flew on Thursday to Qatar to brief Emir Hamad bin Khalifeh al-Thani about Hamas's position on the proposed cease-fire.