Gaza rocket hits Israeli city

A long-range rocket from Gaza landed in an Israeli city today, police said.

The Grad rocket attack in Ashkelon is the first such rocket fired at Israel since a ceasefire was reached with Hamas militants two weeks ago after Israel’s bruising offensive in Gaza.

It came as a Hamas delegation discussed terms for a long-term truce with Israel through Egyptian mediators.

Police said no-one was injured in today’s attack.

Israel launched its three-week offensive to halt the near-daily rocket fire from Gaza towards southern Israel and Israeli leaders have warned that if the rocket fire continues Israel will strike Gaza again.

Meanwhile the foreign minister said she would seek peace with Israel’s moderate Arab neighbours while continuing to strike hard against the region’s extremists if she was elected prime minister.

In a wide-reaching speech at a policy conference in the coastal city of Herzliya, Tzipi Livni said the election next week would dictate the crucial direction Israel took.

“This election is about the peace. It’s about, will there be a government here that says Yes to peace or a government that says No to peace?” she said.

Ms Livni trails hardline Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in the polls.

Her comments came shortly after an Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian militant in the southern Gaza Strip, threatening the ceasefire with Hamas.

In her speech, Ms Livni drew a line between the moderates Israel must embrace and the extremists it must battle.

“When we look around we suddenly see additional countries, Arab and Islamic countries, who see Iran as the region’s major threat. Who see in Iran a threat no less than we do,” she said.

“They are on the same side as we are. Some say it openly, some don’t. Some of them have diplomatic relations with us, some don’t – yet.”

Ms Livni said there was a strategic shift taking place in the Middle East that along with new threats, opened new opportunities.

“In the Middle East, everyone has to choose a side, there is no option of staying on the sidelines,” she said.“