Gaza  - Egyptian efforts to promote a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are still going on and have not failed, a Hamas official said Saturday.

Hamas has "received Israel's response to the Egyptian initiative and handed out the Egyptians some more questions and now wait Israel's clarifications," said Ahmed Yousef, an aide to Hamas' deposed premier Ismail Haniya.

The Islamic movement "will make its decision after it gets the Israeli response on the questions it raised," Yousef added.

Egypt proposed a six-month ceasefire starting in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the Palestinian factions accepted the offer but Israel insisted on the release of an Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas since June 2006.

A Hamas delegation, which heard Israel's response in Cairo, returned to Gaza on Thursday amid reports of the failure of the Egyptian efforts.

Meanwhile, Yousef said the Israeli demands to release Corporal Gilad Shalit were meant to hinder the "calmness," adding that the ball is in Israel's court.

Israel stepped up its military operations in the Gaza Strip and tightened the closure on the impoverished enclave in June 2007 when Hamas took over the territory by force. (dpa)