Tel Aviv, Jan. 7 : Israel has temporarily stopped attacking Gaza to allow aid supplies and fuel to reach the 1.4 million residents of the territory.

Sky News quoted the Israeli military as saying that firing would be stopped for three hours every day to allow the movement of essential aid.

The deputy leader of the Hamas also promised on Al Arabiya television that the group would not launch missiles during that time.

Meanwhile Israel''s President Shimon Peres has said that he is willing to consider a permanent cease-fire, but maintained that his people were victims in the Gaza conflict.

"If it happened in London, you wouldn''t wait a minute. Your people would ask why your government couldn''t stop it. We are not trigger-happy; we do not want to do this. We are not asking for surrender or submission. We are simply entitled to our security like anybody else," Peres was quoted, as saying.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has been meeting in New York to find a solution to the continuing war. A plan drawn up by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has attracted support from his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel has now begun talks with Egypt and Western powers over Cairo''s proposal, Israeli officials said, describing the plan as a "work in progress".

However, in Damascus, a senior advisor to the leader of Hamas said the militant group would not accept proposals of international monitors on border crossings.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has said that he would travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week to convince the leaderships there of the need to reach a ceasefire. (ANI)