A high-ranking Israeli defense official has gone back to Egypt on Friday for further talks over a possible ceasefire in the warring Gaza Strip, local daily Ha'aretz reported.

Amos Gilad, head of the Diplomatic-Security Bureau of Israeli Defense Ministry, has returned from Cairo on Thursday night after discussing the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni decided on Thursday night to let him go to Cairo again on Friday after hearing his report.

But the three leaders are still divided on how to respond to the proposal, said Ha'aretz.

Israeli diplomatic-security cabinet was scheduled to meet Friday to vote on the offer, but it has decided to put off the debate until Gilad returns to Israel with an additional report.

Israel still has some reservations regarding the Egyptian proposal, despite Cairo's apparent promise of crackdown on arms smuggling to Gaza -- one of Israel's key demands -- and Hamas' willingness to accept the offer.

Ha'aretz said that according to a copy it obtained Thursday, the Egyptian truce proposal contains three clauses.

First, Israel and the Palestinians will agree to an immediate, time-limited ceasefire, during which the border crossings will be opened for humanitarian aid and Egypt will lead negotiations on a long-term truce.

Second, the long-term truce must include provisions on both border security and an end to the blockade of Gaza.

Third, Fatah and Hamas should resume reconciliation talks.

Egyptian officials said they believe the initial, short-term truce should last a few months, to allow plenty of time for negotiations on the long-term ceasefire.

However, the proposal does not require Israel to withdraw from Gaza during the initial truce, and Hamas has said it will not accept the proposal unless that omission is corrected.

Hamas also insists that the agreement include a deadline by which the border crossings must reopen.

Israel insists that the crossings not be reopened until the arms smuggling issue is resolved to its satisfaction.

The Jewish state also wants Hamas to agree to an explicit timetable for concluding a deal on Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted in 2006 in a cross-border raid, and to be more flexible in what it is demanding in exchange for Shalit.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2009)