Livni Threatens Hamas as Rockets Fall on Israel

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, said today that her country would "do everything necessary" to fight Gaza militants, as four rockets landed near kibbutzes in the Negev. The chief diplomat and PM candidate met with Eygptian president Hosni Mubarak, who urged both sides to restrain themselves. Yesterday Hamas launched more than 80 rockets into Israel, prompting the Cabinet to prepare for military action, Haaretz reports.

At their meeting Mubarak encouraged Livni to address the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, which borders Egypt, but the foreign minister blamed Hamas for the plight of the civilian population in the area. While Mubarak is publicly calling for restraint, a report in a London pan-Arab newspaper yesterday suggested that Egypt would not oppose a limited Israeli military operation in the strip.
(More Tzipi Livni stories.)