CAIRO (Reuters) -- Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal said on Monday that Israel must halt its attack on the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade of the Palestinian territory in exchange for a truce that he said the Israeli government was seeking.

"We are not against calm (a truce) ... but there must specific demands ... in summary that the Israeli thuggery and aggression stop ... and the siege on Gaza be lifted," he said in a news conference in Cairo.

"Egypt was asked by the Americans, European parties and from Israel directly to work to realize calm. They (Israel) attacked and they requested the calm because their calculations failed," he said. Israel denies its prime minister has requested a truce.