News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the press conference with American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice several minutes ago that the Hamas party has become a full-fledged army and not just a terrorist gang. She pointed out that failure of the Egyptian government to stop smuggling of weapons to Gaza has allowed Hamas to possess longer-range rockets.

Secretary Rice told reporters that she had dispatched Middle East envoy David Welch to speak with Cairo about the smuggling tunnels, adding that it is in Egypt's best interests to stop the flow of weapons into Gaza. "We expect Egypt to do more," she said.