PALESTINIAN negotiators said today that they were considering an Egyptian proposal to end the hostilities in Gaza.

But the talks were struggling, being described as “difficult” by a Hamas spokesman. Israel said no progress was being made.

The Egyptian proposal called for easing parts of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, according to a Palestinian official.

As part of the Egyptian blueprint, Israel would expand fishing limits on Gazans to six miles from the present three.

“It would increase gradually to no less than 12 miles in co-ordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel,” he said.

In addition, the Egyptian plan calls for reducing the size of a border “no-go” area for Palestinians inside Gaza from 300 yards to 100 yards so local farmers can recover plots lost to security crackdowns.

But it left key areas of disagreement, including Hamas demands for a full lifting of the blockade and Israeli calls for Hamas to disarm, to later negotiations.

Egyptian and Palestinian sources both said Israel had tentatively agreed to allow some supplies into Gaza and relax curbs on the cross-border movement of people and goods, subject to certain conditions.

A Palestinian negotiator said he had reservations about the proposal.

“We would like to see more cross-border freedom and also to have the question of a Gaza seaport and airport discussed,” he said.

But Israel remained ominously quiet and, with the ceasefire due to end at midnight, the talks were assuming an increasingly urgent tone.