to discover and prevent the use of weapons-smuggling tunnels . Rice said the steps spelled out in the memorandum will `` stem the flow of weapons and explosives into Gaza . '' `` The United States is reaching out to its partners as well . Together , the steps that we and other members of the international community can take will contribute to a durable cease-fire , '' said Rice , noting that `` there must be an international consensus that Gaza never be used as a launching pad against Israeli cities . '' Livni said that ending the fighting in Gaza wo n't be `` achieved by agreements with terror , but with effective arrangements against it '' -- a unified effort by the international community . She said a `` durable '' end to hostilities requires a stop to weapons smuggling into Gaza . `` We have agreed on a series of actions with regional and international players in order to complement Egyptian actions and end the flow of weapons to Gaza , '' Livni said . She said European nations and NATO would be helping with the anti-smuggling efforts . The Bush administration has been consulting with
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Diplomats edged closer to finding a way to end the fighting in Gaza on Friday as the United States and Israel signed an agreement designed to stop arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory . Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says European nations and NATO will be helping with anti-smuggling efforts . U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for an international effort to stem the flow of weaponry and explosives . The agreement outlines a plan to share information and provide technical assistance to stop the smuggling of arms to the militants . The meeting in Washington was one of several diplomatic moves afoot to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza . The diplomatic moves came as Israel 's offensive against Hamas militants continued , with Israeli airstrikes pounding the northern and southern sections of Gaza . Watch more on the latest fighting in Gaza '' U.S. and Israeli diplomats said the agreement includes intelligence coordination to prevent arms from Iran from entering Gaza , maritime efforts to identify ships carrying weaponry , and the sharing of U.S. and European technologies