Israel's Barak warns against hasty action in Gaza

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday against hasty military action against militants in the Gaza Strip, a day after a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled territory hit a shopping mall in Israel.

"After the events of yesterday the blood boils and the gut wants to react," Barak said during a speech in Jerusalem. But he added: "It is more important to exercise judgment and to follow a policy of think first, act later."

Wednesday's attack came as U.S. President George W. Bush met Israeli leaders in Jerusalem to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of their state -- an event Palestinians commemorate as the "Nakba", or catastrophe, for their people.

Barak also vowed to stop the cross-border rocket attacks, and said Israel's actions "will show results, as we have shown in the past, not by words, but by correct and timely action".

Ashkelon, which is more than 10 km (six miles) north of the coastal strip, has generally been out of range of the almost daily rocket fire from Gaza, but some more powerful rockets, notably Soviet-designed Katyushas or Grads, have struck the city of some 120,000 people this year.

(Reporting by Avida Landau, Editing by Catherine Evans)