Click to play videoNew Delhi: Palestinian militant group Hamas has proposed a six-month truce in Gaza, which could then be extended to the West Bank.
Former Palestinian foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar said the truce must be mutual and include the lifting of an Israeli blockade.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has mostly been closed since Hamas took over the strip last year.
The UN has halted food deliveries in Gaza due to a dearth of fuel. Israel says Hamas is preventing fuel distribution.
More than 80 per cent of Gaza's population rely on aid, with UN food hand-outs going to about 1.1 million people - many of them children.
Meanwhile, An Israeli official says the proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip is ''not serious'' and would only allow the hardline Islamic group to prepare for a new round of fighting.
Israeli government spokesman David Baker says the group is ''playing games, trying to buy time in order to regroup and rearm.''
Hamas officials said this week that the group is prepared to accept a cease-fire in Gaza. Israeli troops regularly clash in the coastal territory with militants who attack border positions and fire rockets at Israeli towns.
The announcement from Hamas was a concession, because the group was previously demanding a cease-fire that would include the West Bank as well.
(With inputs from AP)
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