Israel notified UN chief Ban Ki-moon that it will respond to continuing rocket fire from Gaza Strip following the expiry of a calm with Hamas, a foreign ministry official said Monday. Israel's envoy to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev forwarded the letter to Ban on Sunday as part of a diplomatic campaign to garner international support for any offensive against the territory, the senior official told AFP.
"(Israel) will not hesitate to react militarily if necessary" to rockets fired by militants from the Gaza Strip, Shalev said in her letter, according to public radio. Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leader of the governing Kadima party, "is due to soon meet with foreign ambassadors to Israel and to speak with her counterparts abroad," the official said.
On Sunday, Israeli officials threatened to launch a major offensive against the coastal territory, which has been ruled by Hamas.
