Carter, who was due to meet exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Damascus on Friday, also raised the issue of an Israeli soldier seized in 2006 just outside the Palestinian territory, said Mahmud Zahar, who took part in Thursday's meeting in Cairo.

"We had common points of view and the talks will continue today during the meeting with the political leadership of Hamas in Damascus," Zahar said in a telephone interview.

"President Carter talked of humanitarian proposals linked to the truce," he said in reference to attempts to halt the bloodshed in Gaza, where 18 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were killed in the latest explosion of violence on Wednesday.

The discussions also centered on a crippling embargo against Gaza which Israel imposed in retaliation for rocket and mortar fire from the territory.

During the four-hour meeting, Carter also asked about Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid from Gaza in 2006 claimed by Hamas and two other armed groups, Zahar said.

"We promised to give an answer after we complete internal consultations," Zahar said.

Carter's talks with Hamas have angered officials in the United States and Israel, where the Islamist movement that controls Gaza is considered a terrorist organization.

The Hamas delegation also met Egyptian officials, including intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, to discuss a possible truce with Israel and a reopening of border crossings.

"We are working toward a truce on the condition that the crossing points be opened and that all enemy conditions stop immediately," said Taher al-Nunu, a Hamas spokesman and a member of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo.

© 2008 Agence France-Presse