Israeli officials said today that they had reduced the number of hostages they were asking Hamas to free in exchange for a temporary cease-fire in the war in Gaza. The new stance raised expectations that the two sides might be edging closer to agreeing on their first truce in five months. A new round of cease-fire negotiations could begin as soon as tomorrow.

For months, cease-fire talks have been at a standstill as Israel had demanded that Hamas release at least 40 hostages. Now Israeli officials say they are prepared to settle for only 33, in part because they believe that some of the 40 have died in captivity.

Israel’s new offer included a 40-day cease-fire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners, according to Britain’s foreign minister. Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, called it “extraordinarily generous” and said that Hamas alone stood in the way of a deal.

A mid-ranking delegation from Israel is planning to fly to Cairo tomorrow to resume talks if Hamas agrees to attend. Egypt’s foreign minister said he was “hopeful” that the two sides could reach a deal.

But Patrick Kingsley, our Jerusalem bureau chief, warned that “there are still many stumbling blocks” that could drag out negotiations for several more weeks.

“Hamas wants a truce that gives it a chance of surviving the war as a military force, whereas Israel wants a deal that would allow its army the chance to eventually resume fighting and rout Hamas,” Patrick said.