In an effort to renew negotiations with Hamas for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit, Defence Minister Ehud Barak dispatched a senior aide to Cairo this week for talks with Egypt.
Cairo has mediated between Israel and Hamas since Mr Shalit was captured in a cross-border attack in June 2006. Since Israel's prisoner swap with Hizbollah in July, however, talks have been frozen.
On Sunday, Maj-Gen (ret) Amos Gilad, head of the MOD's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, flew to Cairo for talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, tasked by President Hosni Mubarak with the mediation.
The negotiations stalled over the summer after Hamas said it would only release Mr Shalit in exchange for 1,400 prisoners. Three weeks ago, Israel announced that it was prepared to release 450 prisoners in the exchange.