French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking ahead of a trip to the Middle East, blamed Hamas for "the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza."
In an interview with three Lebanese newspapers to be published Monday, Sarkozy said Hamas, which decided to break a truce and resumed rocket attacks on Israel, bears "a heavy responsibility for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza."
Sarkzoy denounced Hamas' continuing rocket fire as "an unacceptable provocation" during an interview with An Nahar, As Safir and L'Orient le Jour.
But the French president also condemned the Israeli ground offensive and urged Israel to let humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Sarkozy was scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem on Monday for a two-day visit to push for a truce. He will be in Egypt, the West Bank and Israel on Monday and in Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday.
Israel on Sunday intensified strikes on Gaza for the ninth consecutive day, a day after its army began a large-scale ground operation into the enclave. About 514 people have been killed since the violence began on Dec. 27.