CNN TOPSTORIES: Hamas may be talking cease-fire

NEW: Hamas gives Israel conditions for a cease-fire, an Egyptian general says
NEW: At least 92 Palestinians, including a family of 10, have been killed, officials say
Mourners at a funeral for Israeli airstrike victims chant, "revenge, revenge"
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict

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Gaza City (CNN) -- With an Egyptian official acting as an intermediary, Hamas on Monday gave Israel its conditions for a cease-fire, a general in Egyptian intelligence told CNN.

A special Israeli delegation received the letter in Cairo from intelligence chief Mohamed Shehata, the general said.

"We are optimistic about the negotiations so far," the general said.

No details of the conditions were immediately available, nor was there any immediate confirmation of the letter from Israel.

Gaza explosion rocks CNN live report

Map: Israel, Palestinian territories

An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron attends a morning briefing at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Monday, November 19. Militants in Gaza have fired at least 1,000 rockets at Israel, officials say.

Israeli soldiers from a tank squadron prepare ammunition at an Israeli army deployment area on Monday.

A paramedic helps a Palestinian woman out of her building, which was damaged during an Israeli air raid on a nearby sporting center in Gaza City on Monday. At least 90 Palestinians, including a family of 10, have been killed, officials say.

A man covers his nose and mouth as he passes burning debris after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday.

A Palestinian man carries a stuffed toy through a street littered with debris after an air raid on a sporting center in Gaza City on Monday.

Palestinian men gather around a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike at a home in Gaza City on Sunday, November 18.

Palestinian relatives grieve at the hospital in Gaza City on Sunday over family members killed in an airstrike.

Palestinians search the debris of the home following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday.

An Israeli emergency worker inspects the damage to a car in Ofakim, Israel, that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Israeli soldiers wait at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Sunday as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to "significantly escalate" its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on an office of Hamas television channel Al-Aqsa in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday. Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning.

Palestinian children look at damaged buildings following Israeli air strikes Sunday in Rafah.

Israeli soldiers wearing prayer shawls conduct morning prayers Sunday at an Israeli army deployment area.

An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron adjusts the tank barrel at an Israeli army deployment area on Sunday.

Cloth hangs from a window of a building damaged during Israeli air strikes on Gaza City on Sunday.

A Palestinian demonstrator throws stones in front of the headquarters of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday during a protest against Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza.

A fireball rises as the Israeli air force carries out a raid over Gaza City on Saturday, November 17.

An Israeli woman and her children take cover as sirens wail in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza by Palestinian militants were the "precipitating event" for the fighting under way now, U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday.

Palestinians walk amid the debris of a burning factory near the house of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, after it was destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City on Saturday.

A Palestinian woman helps her friend cover her face with a traditional scarf during clashes at the Hawara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday. People rallied against the Israeli military operations.

Palestinians stand on the rubble of the demolished home of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday. Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed 10 Palestinians, five of them militants, as nine Israelis were hurt by rocket fire, four of them soldiers, medics said.

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward strone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.

Palestinian youth clash with Israeli soldiers during protests at the Hawara checkpoin on Saturday.

Israeli soldiers stand guard by the Iron Dome defense system launch site on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli border with Gaza shows smoke billowing following an Israeli air strike inside the Palestinian territory on Saturday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel would be held to account for the children who were among 40 people dead in three days of airstrikes on Gaza.

A Palestinian youth takes cover behind a makeshift barrier during clashes with Israeli soldiers on November 17, 2012. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.

An Israeli missile from the Iron Dome defense missile system is launched to intercept and destroy incoming rocket fire from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israeli troops have been massing on the border as some 200 targets were hit overnight in Gaza, including Hamas cabinet buildings.

Israeli civilians run for cover during a rocket attack launched from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israeli soldiers gather next to their armored bulldozers stationed on Israel's border with Gaza on Saturday, November 17.

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward stone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza in the village of Beit Omar, north of the West Bank town of Hebron, on Saturday. Egypt and Turkey put the onus on Israel to end the fighting around Gaza as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Cairo a day after Washington urged the two governments to pressure the Palestinians.

An injured student from the University of Birzeit is carried away Saturday during clashes with Israeli soldiers as hundreds of students took part in a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in the Israeli occupied West Bank town of Betunia. Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 10 Palestinians and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters.

A student from the University of Birzeit throws a molotov cocktail toward Israeli soldiers during clashes.

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli air raid in Gaza City on November 17, 2012. Israeli air strikes hit the cabinet headquarters of Gaza's Hamas government after militants fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as Israel called up thousands more reservists in readiness for a potential ground war.

Palestinian paramedics carry an injured woman on a stretcher Saturday following an Israeli air raid on a house in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

Smoke billows across the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday following Israeli air strikes inside the Palestinian territory.

A Palestinian Hamas policeman looks at an Israeli rocket in the street in Gaza City on Saturday.

An Israeli man walks to his house damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the moshav of Sde Uziyahu near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. The Israeli military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a closed military zone, in the latest sign it was poised to launch a first ground offensive on the Palestinian enclave since December 2008-January 2009.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest near the Israeli Embassy in Madrid on Friday against Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli children wave their national flag Saturday as they greet a bus carrying soldiers on a road leading to the Israel-Gaza border near the southern Israeli town of Ofakim.

Israeli tanks maneuver at the Israeli-Gaza Strip border.

Relatives take cover from a rocket attack during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, on Friday, November 16. At least three people were killed in the Israeli town when a rocket fired from Gaza struck an apartment building there on Thursday. Fighting between Israel and Hamas militants persisted Friday with no immediate end in sight.

A rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel sails into the air Friday.

Explosions erupt from spots targeted by Israeli airstrikes inside Gaza on Friday.

Israeli soldiers stand guard while explosives experts examine the site where a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion in the village of Kisan, south of Bethlehem on Friday.

A relative grieves during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, on Friday.

Palestinian protesters hold up the Hamas flag during a rally Friday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

People take cover during a rocket attack at a funeral Friday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel.

Palestinian youths throw stones at Israeli security forces Friday in a West Bank village near Bethlehem.

An Israeli soldier aims at Palestinian youth at a West Bank checkpoint Friday during a protest against the fighting in Gaza.

Palestinian Fares Sadallah, 11, cries outside his home after an Israeli airstrike Friday in northern Gaza.

Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze Friday at the Ministry of Interior in Gaza City following an Israeli air raid.

Relatives of Itzik Amsalam, who was killed Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, mourn during Friday's funeral.

A woman cries during the funeral of Itzik Amsalam on Friday.

An Israeli soldier fires a tear gas canister toward Palestinian stone throwers on a road mainly used by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Beit Omar on Friday.

Palestinians run for cover after an Israeli airstrike hits Gaza City on Friday.

Palestinian youths inspect a destroyed mosque in northern Gaza on Friday.

Israeli soldiers conduct a patrol as some 16,000 reserve troops are drafted in on Friday.

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Audi Naser during his funeral in Gaza on Friday.

Palestinian women and children cry during the funeral of Audi Naser on Friday.

Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Civilian Affairs branch of the Ministry of Interior on Friday.

Smokes billows from a target of an Israeli airstrike Friday in Gaza near the border with Israel.

An Israeli woman looks out from an apartment building in Ashdod, Israel, damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants on Friday.

Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Interior Ministry building in Gaza City Friday.

Israelis take cover in a pipe used as a bomb shelter, after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, November 15 in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. Rockets and shells crisscrossed between Israel and Gaza on Thursday as Palestinian militants continued rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and Israel pounded what it called terror sites.

An Israeli man looks out from an apartment building that was hit by a rocket launched presumably from the Gaza Strip, claiming three lives on Thursday in Kiryat Malachi, Israel.

Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli air strikes targeted an electricity generator that fed the house of Hamas's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City, on Thursday.

A crater is left at a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City early Thursday.

Israeli soldiers rest by their armored personnel carriers stationed on the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday.

Rescue workers evacuate a body Thursday in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malakhi after a rocket launched from Gaza hit an apartment building.

Palestinian relatives mourn over the body of Hanen Tafish, a 10-month-old girl, at the morgue of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday after she died following an Israeli air strike in the Zeitun neighbourhood.

Palestinians watch a funeral Thursday in southern Gaza.

A Palestinian pleads for help as he and others try to save a man trapped under his car after an Israeli air raid Thursday in northern Gaza.

Israeli police inspect an apartment building hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Kiryat Malakhi on Thursday. At least three Israelis were killed and four were wounded, an Israeli police spokesman said.

The Israeli military launches a missile Thursday from the southern city of Beersheba.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli town of Sderot shows smoke billowing from a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike inside Gaza on Thursday.

A Palestinian man inspects his damaged house following an Israeli airstrike early Thursday in Gaza City.

An Israeli reacts after a rocket launched from Gaza hits a building Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi.

Palestinian firefighters extinguish the blaze from the car of Ahmed al-Jaabari, head of Hamas' military wing, after an Israeli airstrike hit it in Gaza City on Wednesday, November 14. The Israeli strike killed al-Jaabari.

A woman sits inside a bomb shelter Wednesday in Netivot, Israel.

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire from the car in which al-Jaabari was apparently riding.

A Palestinian man cries as security forces wheel al-Jaabari's body into a hospital.

Palestinian youths look inside a building where al-Jaabari's body was brought after the attack.

A wounded Palestinian girl cries at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Palestinian youths evacuate an elderly man following an Israeli airstrike.

Palestinian civilians leave their houses following an Israeli airstrike.

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Warning: Graphic image (single)

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Photos: Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Blasts interrupt interview in Gaza

The movement comes amid mounting international pressure to end the hostilities, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flying to the region to personally appeal for a cease-fire.

Ban's call for a truce came on the heels of the single deadliest attack -- an Israeli airstrike that killed a family of 10 -- in the conflict that began with militant rocket attacks from Gaza, to which Israel responded with an aerial offensive.

"This must stop," Ban said late Sunday. He called on both sides to cooperate with Egyptian-led effort to broker a cease-fire.

"I am heading to the region to appeal personally for ending the violence and contribute to ongoing efforts to that end," he said.

Ban joins a growing chorus of Western and Arab diplomats calling for end to the crisis that has raised fears of a repeat of Israel's 2008 invasion of Gaza following a similar spate of rocket attacks. At least 1,400 people were killed in that conflict.

U.S. fears escalation to ground invasion

In Israel, three people have been killed and 68 wounded in rocket attacks, the Israel Defense Forces says.

At least 92 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its aerial campaign, Palestinian emergency services said Monday. About 750 people in Gaza have been injured, the group said.

Neighbors and family members used a ditch digger, shovels and, in some cases, their hands to dig through the debris of a two-story house blown apart by an Israeli airstrike.

Ten members of one family were buried in the broken concrete and mangled metal, relatives told CNN.

A ditch digger was used to lift a giant slab of concrete. Underneath, the bodies of two small children were discovered.

Nearby, men dug through concrete blocks to find a missing woman.

"She's my uncle's wife," a young man shouted as he tried to get to a debris pile where the woman was believed buried. "She lived here."

Egyptian demonstrators enter Gaza

Social media takes on Gaza conflict

Airstrike kills 10 in one home

Covering the Gaza conflict

A short time later, the body of the elderly woman was uncovered.

On Twitter, the al Qassam Brigades -- Hamas' military arm -- called it a "massacre committed by Israeli occupation."

Iron Dome is a game-changer, Israelis say

The Israeli airstrike was targeting Yehya Bayaa, "a senior Hamas member," said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, the IDF's chief spokeswoman. The IDF alleges Bayaa is one of the leaders of a Hamas rocket-launching unit.

"When I say a senior Hamas member, I mean members that have Israeli blood on their hands -- members of Hamas that planned either the abduction of soldiers or are very much involved in targeting Israelis," Leibovich said.

The house was Bayaa's home and suspected command center, according to Leibovitch. She said the Israeli military was examining video of the strike to look for signs of secondary explosions, an indication that there were explosives inside. Initially, the IDF reported it killed Bayaa in the attack. But late Sunday, Leibovich said she did not know for sure whether Bayaa had been killed.

Rockets flew overhead as mourners gathered Monday at the al-Isra mosque for the funeral of some of the family members killed, CNN's Ben Wedeman reported. A short time later, the sound of the firing of more rockets could be heard.

Hundreds turned out for the funeral, where some chanted, "revenge, revenge."

Q & A: What is Hamas?

Also on Monday, militants fired six rockets toward Eshkol in southern Israel, with one hitting a school that has been shuttered since the conflict began, the IDF said. Three more rockets fired at Ashkelon -- which has been repeatedly targeted by militants in recent days -- were intercepted by Israel's missile defense system, it said.

Airstrikes Monday in Gaza targeted a stadium where the IDF alleges Hamas militants were launching rockets.

Overnight, a fairly intense air campaign was carried out with a number of airstrikes targeting primarily government buildings.

In the daylight, Gaza City looked something like a war zone with flattened buildings, emptied streets and shuttered store fronts.

An Israeli special envoy was in Egypt for cease-fire talks Monday, the Egyptian government said, and a steady stream of Arab League, U.N. and European diplomats were arriving in the region to promote a cease-fire.

Hamas is putting conditions on any truce offer. In addition to an end the airstrikes, senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said Hamas is demanding the end to Israel's long blockade of Gaza.

The territory has been under a crippling economic embargo since Hamas won control of the territory from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank.

Hamas also wants Israel to stop targeting the leadership of Palestinian factions and to expand the waters Palestinian fishermen are allowed to trawl from three miles offshore to 30, said Shaath, who is also a Fatah leader.

"The attempt is to reach a real stable situation. That's why they are asking for commitment on Israeli typical aggression and periodic incursions and constant shooting and firing at the fishermen in the sea," he said.

Israel, meanwhile, has demanded an end to the rocket attacks.

GPS: What does this all mean?

Militants in Gaza had fired nearly 1,000 rockets at Israel, the IDF reported. Roughly 550 rockets have struck Israel and another 340 have been intercepted, including 41 of the 146 fired Sunday, the military said. About 110 rockets fires by militants in Gaza have landed inside the Palestinian territory.

Israel, meanwhile, carried out 130 strikes during the day, raising to 1,350 the number of sites targeted since it began its bombing campaign on Wednesday, according to the IDF.

The IDF has struck government buildings, police stations and the homes of Hamas officials as well as rocket-launching sites and suspected storage facilities.

"We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the (other) terrorist organizations, and IDF is prepared for a significant expansion of its operations," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Sunday.

The Israeli government also has called up 75,000 reservists and massed tens of thousands of troops and tanks near the border of the border of the Palestinian territory.

The escalation in hostilities has led to an increase in diplomatic efforts in recent days -- with Egypt, France, Turkey, the United States and others wading into the mix after Israel widened its operation and Hamas militants increased its rocket attacks.

Opinion: Hamas can't be ignored

The fighting has put new strains on Israel's relationship with Egypt, which is attempting to broker a cease-fire. The Muslim Brotherhood-led government that took power in June has pledged to maintain Egypt's peace treaty with Israel -- the cornerstone of what peace has been achieved in the turbulent region -- but sympathy for the Palestinians runs deep among Egyptians.

The United States and several European countries have put the brunt of the blame for the current crisis on Hamas, saying Israel has a right to self-defense, while Arab and Muslim nations have accused Israel of being the aggressor.

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, repeated on Monday her previous calls for a long-term solution in Gaza.

"I'm very concerned about the loss of life, but I've also been saying consistently for a long time that we need to find a long-term solution to Gaza," she said. "I've been there three times and we have to find a way to prevent the kind of violent rocket attacks that we've seen, and also to bring some security and peace to the people of that region."

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby and 16 foreign ministers from the league's member states will arrive in Gaza on Tuesday for talks, a spokesman for the organization said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to join the delegation, a ministry spokesman said Monday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, will hold talks in the West Bank with the U.N. secretary-general during his visit to the region, said Saeb Erakat, a member of the PLO's executive committee and an Abbas ally.

Hamas, a militant fundamentalist Islamic organization, has political, military, social and religious arms. It took political control of the Palestinian territory in 2007 after a landslide election.

The organization has been branded a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and the European Union.

CNN's Sara Sidner and Arwa Damon reported from Gaza City; CNN's Chelsea J. Carter reported from Atlanta; CNN's Ben Wedeman, Fred Pleitgen, Amir Ahmed, Jessica Yellin and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

CNN TOPSTORIES

11/19/2012

Hamas may be talking cease-fire

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