The struggling Egyptian ceasefire effort for the Gaza Strip seems to have finally made some meaningful progress after a week of backdoor wrangling, as Hamas has accepted the deal “in principle,” though they said they had reservations about some of the terms and were waiting for Israel to respond.

Israeli officials too seem to be warming to the idea of ending their attacks, with the notable exception of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Tomorrow the Israeli government will finally send Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad to Cairo, after days of delay. Olmert’s office says Gilad will “primarily listen” on the visit, but will likely reiterate Israel’s demands.

Still, one mustn’t forget that Israel too agreed to the Cairo initiative “in principle” a week ago and has killed hundreds of people since then, making such agreements virtually meaningless until they actually translate into a halt in the attacks. International sentiment may be for a halt to the attacks, but it has been for weeks now and has netted little in the way of results.

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