Cairo - Egypt was expecting the arrival in Cairo of a delegation from the militant Palestinian movement Hamas late Monday, for what would be the first round of talks involving the group since the launch of Israeli military action in Gaza last month.

The Hamas delegation was to include Mohammed Nasr, a member of the Islamist group's political bureau, and Emad al-Elami, both based in Damascus.

"The Hamas position will depend on a response to the following demands: an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza strip, a withdrawal of the Zionist occupation from Gaza, ending the Gaza blockade and opening all crossings to Gaza starting with Rafah," Nasr told deutsche presse-agentur dpa in a phone interview.

Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas, said in an earlier statement that the delegation had been invited by the Egyptian government to discuss the Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said that "We asked Hamas two days ago to send us an authorized group to negotiate with.

"We will discuss with them ways to reach an immediate ceasefire and ways for reconciliation to see where it is going," he added.

Egypt, which brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which ended on December 19, has been a key player in mediating between Hamas, rival Palestinian faction Fatah, and Israel.

However the Egyptian government's relations with Hamas have often been tense, as the group has traditional links with the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in Egypt.

Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak had been reportedly angry with Hamas for abandoning the ceasefire in December.

Reconciliation talks between the two rival Palestinian camps - Hamas and Fatah - had been scheduled to take place in Cairo in early November but were cancelled at the last minute, after Hamas announced its boycott. (dpa)