 An Israeli F-15 takes off from an Israeli air force base on Monday, November 19, on a mission over the Gaza Strip. Israel carried out 80 strikes on Monday, raising to more than 1,300 the number of sites targeted since it began its bombing campaign on Wednesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.  An Israeli pilot adjusts a strap as he sits in the cockpit of a jet at an air force base on Monday.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish a blaze following an Israeli airstrike in a Gaza City tower housing Palestinian and international media on Monday.  An Israeli girl holds her sister as they take cover in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on Monday in Nitzan, Israel.  Israeli children play in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter on Monday in Nitzan.  Birzeit University students clash with Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint close to the West Bank university as they protest against Israel's military action on Monday.  Birzeit University students clash with Israeli soldiers on Monday.  Palestinian women mourn during the funeral Monday of members of one family killed when an Israeli missile struck a three-story building in Gaza City on Sunday.  Israeli artillery shells hit a target in the Gaza Strip on Monday near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.  An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron attends a morning briefing at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Monday.  Israeli soldiers from a tank squadron prepare ammunition at an Israeli army deployment area on Monday.  A paramedic helps a Palestinian woman out of her building, which was damaged during an Israeli air raid on a nearby sporting center in Gaza City on Monday. At least 90 Palestinians, including a family of 10, have been killed, officials say.  A man covers his nose and mouth as he passes burning debris after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday.  A Palestinian man carries a stuffed toy through a street littered with debris after an air raid on a sporting center in Gaza City on Monday.  Palestinian men gather around a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike at a home in Gaza City on Sunday, November 18.  Palestinian relatives grieve at the hospital in Gaza City on Sunday over family members killed in an airstrike.  Palestinians search the debris of the home following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday.  An Israeli emergency worker inspects the damage to a car in Ofakim, Israel, that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on Sunday.  Israeli soldiers wait at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Sunday as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to "significantly escalate" its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.  Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on an office of Hamas television channel Al-Aqsa in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday. Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning.  Palestinian children look at damaged buildings following Israeli air strikes Sunday in Rafah.  Israeli soldiers wearing prayer shawls conduct morning prayers Sunday at an Israeli army deployment area.  An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron adjusts the tank barrel at an Israeli army deployment area on Sunday.  Cloth hangs from a window of a building damaged during Israeli air strikes on Gaza City on Sunday.  A Palestinian demonstrator throws stones in front of the headquarters of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday during a protest against Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza.  A fireball rises as the Israeli air force carries out a raid over Gaza City on Saturday, November 17.  An Israeli woman and her children take cover as sirens wail in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza by Palestinian militants were the "precipitating event" for the fighting under way now, U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday.  Palestinians walk amid the debris of a burning factory near the house of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, after it was destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City on Saturday.  A Palestinian woman helps her friend cover her face with a traditional scarf during clashes at the Hawara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday. People rallied against the Israeli military operations.  Palestinians stand on the rubble of the demolished home of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday. Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed 10 Palestinians, five of them militants, as nine Israelis were hurt by rocket fire, four of them soldiers, medics said.  Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward strone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.  Palestinian youth clash with Israeli soldiers during protests at the Hawara checkpoin on Saturday.  Israeli soldiers stand guard by the Iron Dome defense system launch site on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel.  A picture taken from the southern Israeli border with Gaza shows smoke billowing following an Israeli air strike inside the Palestinian territory on Saturday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel would be held to account for the children who were among 40 people dead in three days of airstrikes on Gaza.  A Palestinian youth takes cover behind a makeshift barrier during clashes with Israeli soldiers on November 17, 2012. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.  An Israeli missile from the Iron Dome defense missile system is launched to intercept and destroy incoming rocket fire from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israeli troops have been massing on the border as some 200 targets were hit overnight in Gaza, including Hamas cabinet buildings.  Israeli civilians run for cover during a rocket attack launched from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Israeli soldiers gather next to their armored bulldozers stationed on Israel's border with Gaza on Saturday, November 17.  Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward stone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza in the village of Beit Omar, north of the West Bank town of Hebron, on Saturday. Egypt and Turkey put the onus on Israel to end the fighting around Gaza as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Cairo a day after Washington urged the two governments to pressure the Palestinians.  An injured student from the University of Birzeit is carried away Saturday during clashes with Israeli soldiers as hundreds of students took part in a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in the Israeli occupied West Bank town of Betunia. Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 10 Palestinians and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters.  A student from the University of Birzeit throws a molotov cocktail toward Israeli soldiers during clashes.  Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli air raid in Gaza City on November 17, 2012. Israeli air strikes hit the cabinet headquarters of Gaza's Hamas government after militants fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as Israel called up thousands more reservists in readiness for a potential ground war.  Palestinian paramedics carry an injured woman on a stretcher Saturday following an Israeli air raid on a house in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.  Smoke billows across the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday following Israeli air strikes inside the Palestinian territory.  A Palestinian Hamas policeman looks at an Israeli rocket in the street in Gaza City on Saturday.  An Israeli man walks to his house damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the moshav of Sde Uziyahu near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. The Israeli military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a closed military zone, in the latest sign it was poised to launch a first ground offensive on the Palestinian e nclave since December 2008-January 2009.  Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest near the Israeli Embassy in Madrid on Friday against Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip.  Israeli children wave their national flag Saturday as they greet a bus carrying soldiers on a road leading to the Israel-Gaza border near the southern Israeli town of Ofakim.  Israeli tanks maneuver at the Israeli-Gaza Strip border.  Relatives take cover from a rocket attack during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, on Friday, November 16. At least three people were killed in the Israeli town when a rocket fired from Gaza struck an apartment building there on Thursday. Fighting between Israel and Hamas militants persisted Friday with no immediate end in sight.  A rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel sails into the air Friday.  Explosions erupt from spots targeted by Israeli airstrikes inside Gaza on Friday.  Israeli soldiers stand guard while explosives experts examine the site where a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion in the village of Kisan, south of Bethlehem on Friday.  A relative grieves during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, on Friday.  Palestinian protesters hold up the Hamas flag during a rally Friday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.  People take cover during a rocket attack at a funeral Friday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel.  Palestinian youths throw stones at Israeli security forces Friday in a West Bank village near Bethlehem.  An Israeli soldier aims at Palestinian youth at a West Bank checkpoint Friday during a protest against the fighting in Gaza.  Palestinian Fares Sadallah, 11, cries outside his home after an Israeli airstrike Friday in northern Gaza.  Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze Friday at the Ministry of Interior in Gaza City following an Israeli air raid.  Relatives of Itzik Amsalam, who was killed Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, mourn during Friday's funeral.  A woman cries during the funeral of Itzik Amsalam on Friday.  An Israeli soldier fires a tear gas canister toward Palestinian stone throwers on a road mainly used by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Beit Omar on Friday.  Palestinians run for cover after an Israeli airstrike hits Gaza City on Friday.  Palestinian youths inspect a destroyed mosque in northern Gaza on Friday.  Israeli soldiers conduct a patrol as some 16,000 reserve troops are drafted in on Friday.  Palestinian mourners carry the body of Audi Naser during his funeral in Gaza on Friday.  Palestinian women and children cry during the funeral of Audi Naser on Friday.  Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Civilian Affairs branch of the Ministry of Interior on Friday.  Smokes billows from a target of an Israeli airstrike Friday in Gaza near the border with Israel.  An Israeli woman looks out from an apartment building in Ashdod, Israel, damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants on Friday.  Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Interior Ministry building in Gaza City Friday.  Israelis take cover in a pipe used as a bomb shelter, after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, November 15 in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. Rockets and shells crisscrossed between Israel and Gaza on Thursday as Palestinian militants continued rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and Israel pounded what it called terror sites.  An Israeli man looks out from an apartment building that was hit by a rocket launched presumably from the Gaza Strip, claiming three lives on Thursday in Kiryat Malachi, Israel.  Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli air strikes targeted an electricity generator that fed the house of Hamas's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City, on Thursday.  A crater is left at a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City early Thursday.  Israeli soldiers rest by their armored personnel carriers stationed on the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday.  Rescue workers evacuate a body Thursday in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malakhi after a rocket launched from Gaza hit an apartment building.   Palestinian relatives mourn over the body of Hanen Tafish, a 10-month-old girl, at the morgue of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday after she died following an Israeli air strike in the Zeitun neighbourhood.  Palestinians watch a funeral Thursday in southern Gaza.  A Palestinian pleads for help as he and others try to save a man trapped under his car after an Israeli air raid Thursday in northern Gaza.  Israeli police inspect an apartment building hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Kiryat Malakhi on Thursday. At least three Israelis were killed and four were wounded, an Israeli police spokesman said.  The Israeli military launches a missile Thursday from the southern city of Beersheba.  A picture taken from the southern Israeli town of Sderot shows smoke billowing from a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike inside Gaza on Thursday.  A Palestinian man inspects his damaged house following an Israeli airstrike early Thursday in Gaza City.  An Israeli reacts after a rocket launched from Gaza hits a building Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish the blaze from the car of Ahmed al-Jaabari, head of Hamas' military wing, after an Israeli airstrike hit it in Gaza City on Wednesday, November 14. The Israeli strike killed al-Jaabari.  A woman sits inside a bomb shelter Wednesday in Netivot, Israel.  Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in Khan Younis, Gaza.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire from the car in which al-Jaabari was apparently riding.  A Palestinian man cries as security forces wheel al-Jaabari's body into a hospital.  Palestinian youths look inside a building where al-Jaabari's body was brought after the attack.  A wounded Palestinian girl cries at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.  Palestinian youths evacuate an elderly man following an Israeli airstrike.  Palestinian civilians leave their houses following an Israeli airstrike.                                                                                                
CNN has multiple crews in Gaza, Israel and neighboring countries to bring you the latest accurate information on the conflict, the impact on people and talks to stop the violence. Turn to CNN TV and CNN.com for what you need to know now. (CNN) -- The longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas reignited last week after Israel launched airstrikes against what it called terrorist targets in Gaza. Israel explained that the offensive, which it calls "Operation Pillar of Defense," was necessitated by increasing rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory. Among those killed in the Israeli airstrikes Wednesday was Ahmed al-Ja'abari, the chief of Hamas' military wing. Weapons depots and rocket-launching sites were also targeted. "Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza have made normal life impossible for over 1 million Israelis," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire." Palestinian leaders condemned the attacks and said it is just another example of Israel's aggression toward Gaza. Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel has imposed a crippling economic embargo on the territory because it views Hamas as a terrorist organization bent on destroying the state of Israel. FAQ: What is Hamas, and what are its aims?  Meanwhile, Hamas' military wing vowed revenge, warning that Israel had opened "the gates of hell on themselves." Since then, Israel and Hamas have been trading bombs and rockets, and there is international concern that the situation could escalate into an even bloodier ground war. The Israeli government has called up 75,000 reservists and massed 30,000 troops across the border of the Palestinian territory, according to the Israel Defense Forces. "If this situation continues and it escalates, it's going to be really serious and tragic -- not just for Israelis and Palestinians, but actually it will cause a huge amount of upheaval right across the region," said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is envoy for the Middle East Quartet working to find a peace agreement. "And this is a region, as you know, that doesn't require more upheaval right now." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew to the region Monday to personally appeal for a cease-fire, joining a chorus of Western and Arab leaders who do not want to see a repeat of 2009, when a three-week ground offensive resulted in the deaths of at least 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. But not all of those leaders view the conflict similarly.   Gaza explosion rocks CNN live report  24 hours in Gaza  Arab Spring alters climate for Hamas  Airstrike kills 10 in one home Many of the Western nations, including the United States and several European countries, see Hamas as the aggressor. U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking in Thailand on Sunday, said Hamas rocket attacks were the "precipitating" event for the fighting and that "we are actively working with all the parties in the region to see if we can end those missiles being fired without further escalation of violence." The United States, like Israel, views Hamas as a terrorist organization. More: Obama's telephone diplomacy on Gaza Many Arab and Muslim nations, on the other hand, see Hamas as the victim of Israeli aggression. Egypt, for example, recalled its ambassador to Israel and delivered a formal protest to the Israeli government. "No one can remain still and watch this tragedy unfold in this fashion," Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil said Friday. "This is impossible. The whole world must intervene, and Israel must abide by the agreements and stop the aggression." Kandil visited a Gaza hospital and kissed the lifeless body of a 4-year-old boy said to have been killed by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military told CNN, however, that it did not carry out any strikes at the time of the child's death; it said it had stopped temporarily for Kandil's visit. The death of civilians, especially children, has been a common rallying cry for critics of Israel's offensive. Ten people, including several children, were pulled from the rubble after one airstrike in Gaza, as CNN's Arwa Damon witnessed. Israeli authorities said they go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in densely populated Gaza, even dropping leaflets and nonlethal bombs to warn people about bombings in advance. But "the terrorists," Netanyahu said, "are committing a double war crime: They fire at Israeli civilians, and they hide behind Palestinian civilians." And sometimes, according to a tweet from the Israeli military, "Hamas fires from civilian areas and hits its own people." Both Israel and Hamas have taken to Twitter to defend their cause and sway outside opinion. One recent graphic, tweeted from the account of Hamas' military wing, said Israel isn't killing terrorists in Gaza; it's killing children, senior citizens and women. The Israeli military tweeted a graphic that asked, "What would you do if rockets were striking your country? RT if you agree that #Israel has the right to self-defense."  Small boy caught in Mideast crossfire  Reporter ducks as Gaza alarms sound  What's at stake in Gaza?  Social media takes on Gaza conflict As the fighting and the finger-pointing carry on, there's no denying that suffering continues on both sides. CNN's Sara Sidner interviewed one woman in Gaza who lost her two children, ages 2 and 4. "I am in shock, I can't believe it," Riba Abu Saithan said, crying. "My two children, they are priceless to me. My life is now very difficult." In Ashkelon, a town in southern Israel, everyone is constantly afraid of rocket attacks, its mayor said. "We can't go on like this," Mayor Benny Vaknin told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen. "We have 131,000 people here and 26,000 children. They are constantly under threat." Many experts expect that both Israel and Hamas will find it in their best interests to eventually stop fighting. Neither side has much to gain in repeating the events of 2009, writes Aaron David Miller, a vice president and distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Miller, who served as a Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican organizations, said: "War didn't fix the problem then, and it's unlikely to fix it now. Nor do the Israelis -- when the real threat is Iran -- want to get into a major military and political mess over Gaza that would make their relationship with Egypt even more complicated." More: Why Israel might hesitate to invade But if war isn't the answer, why do the bombs and rockets continue to fly? Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said each side suspects the other of playing domestic politics. "Palestinians fear that the Israeli government is making war with an eye to upcoming elections. Israelis suspect that Hamas -- whose full name is the "Islamic Resistance Movement" -- is lobbing rockets because it is tired of its rivals' taunting that it is not living up to its middle name," said Brown, who has authored six books on Middle East politics. There is some truth to these charges, Brown said, but both sides have other goals in mind. "The Israelis know that they cannot dislodge Hamas from Gaza without unacceptable cost and endless occupation. But they want to punish the movement so severely that it will be deterred from future violence," he said. "Hamas knows that the damage it inflicts serves no strategic value, but it hopes that its rockets will cause dislocation and even panic in Israel and send an international message that Gaza cannot be ignored." CNN's Sara Sidner, Arwa Damon, Greg Botelho, Chelsea J. Carter, Kareem Khadder, Frederick Pleitgen, Mohammed Fadel Fahmy, Josh Levs, Saad Abedine, Talal Abu-Rahma, Hala Gorani, John D. Sutter and Bryony Jones contributed to this report.   |
11/19/2012
How this reignited
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