ISRAELI planes have carried our fewer air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, as some reserve units went into action on the ground.
There were 12 air raids - compared with as many as 60 on previous nights. One rocket was reportedly fired on Israel from Gaza on Monday morning.
Israeli military officials denied they were stepping up a ground offensive against Hamas militants.
Earlier, PM Ehud Olmert said Israel was nearing its military goals.
Reports suggest diplomatic efforts between Egypt and Hamas in Cairo are progressing.
After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said elements were in place for a ceasefire agreement and were being worked on "very hard", AP news agency reported.
Nearly 900 Gazans have been killed during the conflict, Palestinian medics say. Israel says 13 Israelis have died.
Nearly 40 people were killed across Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian sources said - 17 in Gaza City, as Israel's troops reportedly engaged in fierce fighting there.
Israel is preventing international journalists from entering the coastal strip, making it impossible to independently confirm such figures.
Israel hopes the scale of its operation will greatly reduce the number of missiles fired from Gaza into southern Israel, while eroding support for Hamas.
Militants fired more than 20 rockets on Sunday, slightly injuring three people, but no more rockets were fired overnight.
'Still training'
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC Israel's goals were "very minimalistic" and "purely defensive".
"We refuse, we refuse to return to a reality in which the Israeli civilian population has to live in that constant fear of an incoming Hamas rocket," he said.
Confirming the deployment of reserve soldiers, Mr Regev said reservists had been called up "a few days back" to augment Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said some were being used to refresh troops currently in action in Gaza, but that this did not yet constitute an escalation of the campaign.
Brig Gen Avi Benayahu, Israel's chief military spokesman, said thousands more - who are to comprise a new, expanded phase in the ground operation - were still in training and had not been deployed.
On Sunday Israel dropped new leaflets into Gaza and left phone messages warning Gazans to stay away from areas used by Hamas, the Associated Press reported.
In Cairo, talks between Hamas and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman were described by an unnamed intelligence official as "positive", the state news agency reported, without providing details.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Middle East envoy for the Quartet - the US, EU, UN and Russia - is due to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Monday morning.
bbc, afp
There were 12 air raids - compared with as many as 60 on previous nights. One rocket was reportedly fired on Israel from Gaza on Monday morning. Israeli military officials denied they were stepping up a ground offensive against Hamas militants.
Earlier, PM Ehud Olmert said Israel was nearing its military goals.
Reports suggest diplomatic efforts between Egypt and Hamas in Cairo are progressing.
After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said elements were in place for a ceasefire agreement and were being worked on "very hard", AP news agency reported.
Nearly 900 Gazans have been killed during the conflict, Palestinian medics say. Israel says 13 Israelis have died.
Nearly 40 people were killed across Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian sources said - 17 in Gaza City, as Israel's troops reportedly engaged in fierce fighting there.
Israel is preventing international journalists from entering the coastal strip, making it impossible to independently confirm such figures.
Israel hopes the scale of its operation will greatly reduce the number of missiles fired from Gaza into southern Israel, while eroding support for Hamas.
Militants fired more than 20 rockets on Sunday, slightly injuring three people, but no more rockets were fired overnight.
'Still training'
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC Israel's goals were "very minimalistic" and "purely defensive". "We refuse, we refuse to return to a reality in which the Israeli civilian population has to live in that constant fear of an incoming Hamas rocket," he said.
Confirming the deployment of reserve soldiers, Mr Regev said reservists had been called up "a few days back" to augment Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said some were being used to refresh troops currently in action in Gaza, but that this did not yet constitute an escalation of the campaign.
Brig Gen Avi Benayahu, Israel's chief military spokesman, said thousands more - who are to comprise a new, expanded phase in the ground operation - were still in training and had not been deployed.
On Sunday Israel dropped new leaflets into Gaza and left phone messages warning Gazans to stay away from areas used by Hamas, the Associated Press reported.
In Cairo, talks between Hamas and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman were described by an unnamed intelligence official as "positive", the state news agency reported, without providing details.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Middle East envoy for the Quartet - the US, EU, UN and Russia - is due to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Monday morning.