JERUSALEM — Hamas has set out its terms for a ceasefire with Israel following extensive mediation efforts by Egypt. It has called for an end to Israeli incursions into Gaza and the West Bank and for the reopening of Gaza’s borders in exchange for a complete halt to rocket attacks.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, which controls Gaza, said in a speech yesterday that a ceasefire should be “reciprocal, comprehensive, and simultaneous,” and apply to all factions. “We will not abandon you, our people in the West Bank,” he said. “Aggression against you is aggression against us.”

The Islamist organisation is classified as a terrorist group by most of the West for its refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence. Both Israeli and Hamas officials have denied that any talks have taken place and the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, said operations in Gaza would continue as necessary. “We are not in a situation of having an arrangement, we are carrying out ongoing operations which are meant to halt the qassam [rocket] fire and return security to the residents of the south,” Mr. Barak said.

But Israeli troops have not mounted an operation in Gaza in a week, and rocket fire from the strip has also slowed dramatically. Earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, said he believed Israel was close to agreeing to a truce.

[Meanwhile, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will face several empty seats during her address to the Israeli parliament next week, after a legislator said he would rather boycott the speech than listen to the language used by the Nazis. Mrs. Merkel was given special dispensation to address parliamentarians during an official visit on Tuesday. The honor is usually reserved for presidents and monarchs.]