Tel Aviv  - Israel's security cabinet was set to convene later Saturday evening in Tel Aviv to discuss the military campaign in the Gaza Strip and was leaning in the direction of announcing a unilateral ceasefire, two senior Israeli officials said.

The cabinet meeting was expected to be in depth and last for a couple of hours, after which Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak would have a press conference.

A senior security official told dpa that already Saturday night Israel would begin to "hold its fire" and that further stages were dependant on Hamas.

If the Islamist group, which rules Gaza, ceases rocket fire into Israel, the military would continue to refrain from attacking in the enclave, the official said, and this would signal the beginning of the end of the 22 day old offensive.

Israeli troops would for the meantime remain in the strip at the positions they currently hold outside of urban areas.

Barak said earlier that Israel was "very close to achieving its goals and complementing them with diplomatic agreements."

Israel signed a Friday a deal with the US to fight against weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip, focusing on their points of origin.

Egypt has also been trying to mediate between Hamas and Israel - the two do not conduct direct talks - though the Egyptian president on Saturday called for the Israeli military to withdraw from Gaza immediately and without preconditions.

For its part, Hamas sounded more defiant Saturday, with a senior official in Lebanon saying the movement would not stop fighting, even if Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire. dpa