Israel has dismissed a Hamas proposal for a six-month truce in Gaza that could later extend to the occupied West Bank.
Government spokesman Mark Regev said the truce did not appear to be serious.
Mr Regev said that Hamas continued to target Israel and build up its military capacity.
He said the quiet they seem to be proposing is 'the quiet before the storm.'
Both sides generally refer to a period of calm or quiet rather than talk of a formal truce.
Israel is ready for quiet in the south, Mr Regev said.
But he added that a truce would only work if Gaza militants stop targeting Israel, Hamas ends its 'orchestrated terrorism', and arms smuggling from Egypt into the Palestinian territory is halted.
Hamas yesterday said it would agree to a six-month truce in Gaza if Israel commits to lifting its siege of the Palestinian territory once 'the calming takes effect.'
It said the truce could then extend to the occupied West Bank after the initial phase.
It said any period of calm between them and Israel must be reciprocal, simultaneous and comprehensive, and must include lifting the blockade and ceasing all aggression.
No fuel delivery
The UN, which has stopped distributing aid in Gaza for lack of fuel, has warned that shortages in the besieged territory affected the peace process with Israel.
Chris Gunness of the UN Relief and Works Agency said hungry, angry people do not serve the interests of peace, neither do they serve Israel's security interests.
Yesterday, UNRWA halted its food distribution to 650,000 people in the Palestinian territory, saying it no longer had any fuel for its aid trucks.
A majority of the 1.5m population rely on aid to survive as Israel maintains a blockade it says is aimed at forcing militants to halt almost-daily rocket attacks.
UN officials said they were negotiating with Israel to receive the fuel urgently needed to resume aid distribution.
But no fuel has been delivered so far.
Israeli officials say they tried to deliver fuel to UNRWA yesterday, but that a demonstration prevented tankers from reaching the storage tanks at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal on the border.
Nahal Oz, which supplies all of Gaza's fuel needs, has been open only sporadically since Gaza militants launched an attack there on 9 April. It remains closed today for Jewish Passover celebrations.
Israel says 1m litres of fuel are stored on the Palestinian side of the terminal, and that Hamas is not allowing its distribution inside Gaza.
