Worst round of Gaza-Israel violence in year shows no signs of letting up

Cross-border violence between Israel and Gaza has significantly increased in the last several days. The violence was triggered by Israel's killing of a top Gazan militant. Gazan militants responded by firing dozens of rockets at Israeli towns, causing great damage. In turn, Israeli airstrikes have killed three Gazans, one militant and two civilians. Egypt has tried to mediate the conflict that has killed 16 Gazan civilians and disrupted the lives of more than 1 million Israelis living in Gaza rocket range. This ongoing conflict has left both sides "badly bruised" as the article put it, Israel in the diplomatic arena and Hamas on the battlefield. It seems like neither side is interested in a significant escalation. Hamas hasn't used some of its more harmful weapons against Israel, and Israel has explicitly stated that they are not interested in escalation, although Israel promises that they will use force on those who harm them. The US and UN have called on both sides to exercise restraint.

http://wapo.st/wMmFdi
Jill Laumbacher