CAIRO (Reuters) -- The exiled leader of Hamas said on Monday that Palestinian weapons had caught Israel "off guard" and said Israel had failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza.

"The weapons of the resistance have caught the enemy off guard," Mashaal told a new conference in Cairo, speaking as Egypt says it could be close to securing a truce between the two sides.

Mashaal said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested a truce. "Whoever started the war must end it," Mashaal said.

Israel denied that Netanyahu had asked for a cease to hostilities.