Egypt

With the death toll in Gaza rising to nearly 300, a furious reaction spread across the Arab world, raising fears of greater instability in the region.

A sustained Israeli operation in Gaza would sharply raise public pressure to do more to help the Palestinians there.

Israel’s continuing air assaults on Hamas sites are also disrupting the livelihoods of the people of Rafah, the smuggling of goods through a network of tunnels.

Arab countries appeared deeply divided over how to respond to the latest escalation in fighting between Israel and Hamas, at the opening of an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo.

The violence in Gaza has put Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia on the defensive, while Syria and Iran have drawn praise in the Arab world for their militancy.

Egypt’s longtime president, Hosni Mubarak, is facing domestic criticism in a country where people are normally very careful about what they say publicly.

The Egyptian government has demanded that Apple disable the phone’s global-positioning system, arguing that GPS is a military prerogative.