Reuters reported on Friday that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni headed to Washington late Thursday to finalize an accord designed to prevent Hamas from rearming, a key Israeli condition for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert authorized this evening the trip of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to the United States to promote an American-Israeli outlined agreement intended to deal with weapon smuggling," Olmert's office said in a statement.

Israeli officials said Livni was tentatively scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT), according to Reuters.

The statement made no mention of a proposal by Hamas, relayed by Egypt, for a yearlong ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. A spokesman for Olmert also declined to comment on any ceasefire proposal, the agency said.

Hamas told Egypt it would agree to a yearlong renewable ceasefire, if Israel pulled out all its forces within five to seven days and reopened border crossings immediately, Hamas and diplomatic sources said, according to Reuters.

-NOW Staff