The former British Prime Minister who works as the Middle East envoy for world powers spoke in Cairo where truce talks between Egyptian officials and a Hamas delegation were underway. Israel postponed a Cairo trip by Amos Gilad, its top envoy to the talks, in an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to agree to the emerging settlement.

Mr Blair said the negotiations which centre on future efforts to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip were at a "sensitive stage".

But he said that "the elements of an agreement" for a ceasefire "are there" and that officials were working "very hard" to reach their goal.

Israel is threatening to mobilise its reserve forces to mount a broad scale invasion of the Palestinian territory if a ceasefire, which would see rocket attacks on Israel dry up, is not reached.