War in Gaza:ISRAEL'S GROUND offensive in Gaza, which began on Saturday, marked the start of the second phase of the punishing military operation against Hamas, writes Mark Weissin Jerusalem
The campaign is likely to finish with a new ceasefire agreement between the sides, which leaves Hamas still in control of Gaza.
But, the perception of which side comes out on top will go a long way to determining the terms of the truce. The aim of operation Cast Lead, now in its 10th day, is to inflict such a heavy military blow on Hamas that the Islamic group will be forced to accept an internationally brokered ceasefire on Israel's terms.
For Israel, the key elements are: an end to the rocket attacks from Gaza; an end to smuggling of weapons into the strip; and the establishment of an international monitoring mechanism.
If the comments of Israel's top domestic intelligence chief are to be believed, the decision to hit Hamas is beginning to bear fruit.
Yuval Diskin, the head of the Israel Security Agency, told the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday that Hamas was showing the first signs of moderating its position regarding a possible ceasefire.
"A real threat exists today to the Hamas enterprise in the Gaza Strip," Mr Diskin told ministers. "The leadership in Gaza and abroad feels an existential threat."
The cabinet was briefed that Hamas feels let down by the lack of support from Arab states, and the public criticism from some moderate Arab countries, particularly Egypt.
The tension between Cairo and the Hamas leadership raises a question over the ability of the Egyptians - who mediated the first six-month truce between Israel and Hamas - to fill the role of honest broker this time round.
In fact, with Israel and Hamas refusing to sit down and talk, finding a third party capable of mediating between the two sides will be the first hurdle to overcome.
Turkey may be the answer.
The country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, travelled to Saudi Arabia yesterday to push the idea of a two-stage ceasefire plan.
Under this plan, both sides would agree to an immediate truce, and this would be followed by the placing of international monitors on the border between Israel and Gaza.
But, so far, neither Israel nor Hamas has responded positively.
The quartet of Middle East peace sponsors - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the UN - refused to engage with Hamas.
This follows the organisation's rejection of three conditions: recognition of Israel; renunciation of violence; and endorsement of existing peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Tony Blair, the quartet's regional envoy, has started shuttle diplomacy, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, in the West Bank, in an effort to stop the violence.
The only problem is that his Palestinian interlocutors in Ramallah are the Palestinian Authority leaders, Hamas' sworn enemies.
The bitter rivalry between the two Palestinian groups is another factor making it difficult to arrange a new ceasefire.
Hamas deposed Fatah from power in Gaza after a week of street clashes in Gaza in June 2007, and suspects that its secular rivals will seek to regain control of the strip in the wake of Israel's invasion.
Last week in Gaza, Hamas gunmen reportedly killed a number of Fatah activists, who were suspected of collaborating with Israel. Others were shot in the legs or placed under house arrest.
Egypt invited representatives of the factions to Cairo for urgent reconciliation talks, even though similar efforts last year broke down before they really got off the ground. Hamas, like Israel, has red lines when it comes to the terms of a new ceasefire.
First and foremost, Hamas representatives insist that a new truce must include the opening of the border crossings and an end to Israel's economic siege.
Egyptian officials have said that their border crossing with Gaza, at Rafah, will only be reopened if the Palestinian Authority controls the terminal on the Palestinian side.
Hamas rejected this out of hand.
European Union monitors , who were stationed at the Rafah crossing, fled after the Hamas takeover.
A small EU team remains in Israel, ready to resume monitoring duties at Rafah, if the situation changes.
The EU also insists on a Palestinian Authority presence at the Palestinian terminal at Rafah, in line with Brussels's policy, which recognises it as the legitimate Palestinian government.