Hamas officials insisted on Tuesday that the Egyptian plan for a Gaza ceasefire required serious changes, even as Israeli officials said they had dealt the Islamist movement a severe blow with their 18 days of bombardment.

As thousands of Israeli reservists poured into the territory to support the ground offensive, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, told a parliamentary committee that Israel had “achieved a lot in hitting Hamas and its infrastructure, its rule and its armed wing, but there is still work ahead”.