10-Day Truce Proposed in Talks With Hamas, Israel

Israeli leaders signaled that they have crippled Hamas to their satisfaction after 19 days of heavy bombardment and ground fighting, but were holding out for international guarantees that weapons would no longer be smuggled into Gaza.

Israeli Army tanks head for combat missions in Gaza on the Israel-Gaza border during Israel's...

Israeli Army tanks head for combat missions in Gaza on the Israel-Gaza border during Israel's military offensive, early morning Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Israeli aircraft struck a Gaza City cemetery Wednesday, pulverizing newly buried bodies, and pounded militants' weapons positions and arms smuggling tunnels, witnesses and the military said, as guerrillas in Lebanon raised the specter of a new front by sending rockets crashing into northern Israel. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

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The rocket fire from Lebanon caused no injuries, but sent residents scurrying to bomb shelters. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and speculation focused on small Palestinian groups. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed guerrilla group that fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006, denied involvement in last week's attack.

In a Web audiotape Wednesday, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to launch a holy war against Israel. Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious opinion, or fatwa, forbidding the purchase of any Israeli goods or trade with Israeli companies.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a visit to the Mideast on Wednesday, urging an immediate halt to the violence.

"It is intolerable that civilians bear the brunt of this conflict," he said after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "Negotiations need to be intensified to provide arrangements and guarantees in order to sustain an endurable cease-fire and calm."

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Ban is scheduled to arrive Thursday in Israel. He will also visit Jordan, the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait. His itinerary does not include a stop in Gaza because of the ongoing conflict.

In Paris, the French and German foreign ministers urged an immediate Gaza cease-fire, saying in a statement that such a measure would "provide space to address the humanitarian crisis."

Meanwhile, both Venezuela and Bolivia broke diplomatic ties with Israel over Gaza, a week after Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador. Both Latin nations have cultivated ties to Iran, which supports Hamas.

If a cease-fire is reached, it would aim to give 10 days of quiet to work out the contentious issues of a longer truce, according to the framework outlined by the Egyptian and Palestinian officials close to the talks.

During that time, Egyptian, Turkish and other international mediators would try to negotiate an arrangement for policing Gaza's borders — particularly those with Egypt — to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory, the officials said.

This would likely entail some kind of international monitors on the Palestinian side of the border — but the two sides remain far apart on who would make up the force, where they would be deployed and their mission.