Seven civilians were killed, including five children, in the conflict's highest one-day civilian toll yet, according to security officials and witnesses.
Upon arrival at Cairo's international airport, the Israeli official was whisked away and taken to talks with Egyptian authorities, Egyptian security officials said. They did not identify the Israeli official.
Egypt has been leading international efforts to broker a truce since Israel launched its offensive five days earlier aimed at stopping Gaza rocket attacks. But Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers remain far apart on any terms.
Hamas is linking a truce deal to a complete lifting of the border blockade on Gaza imposed since Islamists seized the territory by force. Hamas also seeks Israeli guarantees to halt targeted killings of its leaders and military commanders. Israeli officials reject such demands. They say they are not interested in a "time out", and want firm guarantees that the rocket fire will finally end. Past ceasefires have been shortlived.
As the offensive moved forward, Israel found itself at a crossroads - on the cusp of launching a ground offensive into Gaza to strike an even tougher blow against Hamas, or pursuing Egyptian-led truce efforts.
"The Israeli military is prepared to significantly expand the operation," Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
At the same time, Gaza militants continued their barrage of rocket fire, firing more than two dozen at Israel on Sunday, including a longer-distance projectile that targeted Tel Aviv for a fourth straight day. One rocket damaged a home in the southern city of Ashkelon, punching a hole in the ceiling. Israel's "Iron Dome" rocket-defence system shot down seven rockets, including the one aimed at Tel Aviv, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said. Eight Israelis were wounded by shrapnel on Sunday, one of them moderately.
Expanding targets to strike the homes of suspected commanders appeared to mark a new and risky phase of the operation, given the likelihood of civilian casualties in the densely populated territory of 1.5 million Palestinians.
Palestinian medical officials later said at least 10 civilians, including four women and four young children, were killed in an Israeli air strike which flattened a two-story home in Gaza City. It was not immediately clear what the target of the air strike was.
Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/panewsfeeds/israel-and-egypt-discuss-truce-bid-8326882.html
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