Miliband told lawmakers in the House of Commons that Egyptian officials had talked to him about their talks with Hamas.

"There is a measure of urgency. Hamas were in Egypt yesterday. But there are some fundamental issues to overcome," Miliband said.

Those issues, he said, include the smuggling of arms and other goods across the Egyptian border and wider disputes over access to and control of border crossings, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Miliband called on both Israel and Hamas to commit to an immediate cease-fire. Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the issue last weekend, his office said.

"Peace benefits Israelis and Palestinians - war kills both. They are destined to live next door to each other. They can either do so as combatants or as neighbors. We are committed to help them do the latter," Miliband said.

But Miliband said that there can be no equivalence between Israel’s legitimate government and Hamas, who he said had "shown themselves over a number of years ready to be murderous in word and deed."

"There are some people in Hamas who recognize that there needs to be a politically negotiated solution. However, the tragedy is they are not in the majority," he said.

Miliband said the long-term future for the Palestinians must be united government.