More bombs, rockets, diplomacy for Israel, Gaza

The IDF hit many dozens of targets in Gaza overnight Gazan rockets hiss off towards Israeli cities not from from its borders Diplomatic efforts to halt the death and destruction continue Wednesday A glimmer of hope for a cease-fire sparked Tuesday only to be extinguished 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. Near the Israel-Gaza border (CNN) -- Israeli bombs and artillery turned buildings, tunnels and bridges in Gaza into rubble overnight into Wednesday in 100 strikes confirmed by Israeli authorities, while Hamas media boasted about their militants' rockets hissing off in the direction of populated areas of southern Israel. Rumors of an imminent diplomatic agreement Tuesday between Hamas and Israeli leaders that could halt the thunderous explosions at least for a while have not become reality. But diplomats continue their fervent efforts Wednesday in hopes the skies on both sides will fall peacefully silent and stay that way. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, who is working to broker a cease-fire. She is also to sit down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.  Map: Israel Map: Israel The Israeli military strikes border tunnels between Egypt and Rafah in southern Gaza on Tuesday, November 20. Explosions terrified Palestinians and Israelis for a seventh day amid reports of a possible "calming down" period to halt the violence. Israeli-fired artillery flares illuminate the sky over the southern Israeli border with Gaza Tuesday as fighting continues. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met to deliver joint statements in Jerusalem, Tuesday. Israeli forces fire a shell from the Israel-Gaza border into Gaza on Tuesday. Men on motorcycles drag the body of man through the streets of Gaza City on Tuesday. The men dragging the body claimed it was the body of a collaborator and an Israeli spy. Ronit Hakmon reacts to the damage to her home in Beer Sheva, Israel, on Tuesday, after a rocket from Gaza militants hit it. Palestinian families evacuate their homes following an Israeli airstrike Tuesday in Gaza City. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the weeklong attacks, the Gaza Ministry of Health says. Four Israelis have died. Palestinian children stand at the gate of their home Tuesday as they watch a funeral procession for those killed following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. A Palestinian carries a bag of items salvaged from a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike Tuesday on Gaza City. An Israeli soldier reads his morning prayers Tuesday at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave. A Palestinian boy walks through the rubble of Hamas commander's house Tuesday in the southern Gaza town of Rafa. An overnight Israeli airstrike targeted the home. 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 enclave 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. 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Eyes on Israel's missile defense system Land area: 360 sq. km or 138 sq miles Population: Nearly 1.7 million That's about the size of Detroit, Michigan (pop. 710,000) Or Malta plus San Marino (combined pop. 427,000) Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 99.3%, Christian 0.7% Economy: Agriculture and small businesses Unemployment: 40% in 2010 Tweets from @cnni/israel-gaza-updates She met for more than two hours Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Clinton is not expected to travel to Gaza, which is run by Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries. A rocket alarm howled over Ashkelon on the Israeli side shortly after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, just minutes after Hamas' TV broadcaster al-Aqsa reported its militants' rockets striking there as well as in the towns of Sderot and Ashdod. What could brink the conflict to an end? Since midnight 17 rockets out of Gaza have touched down in Israel, the IDF confirmed. Iron Dome intercepted 12 more. CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Ashkelon heard two impacts but could not yet say if the rockets hit anything or were eliminated mid-air by Israel's Iron Dome rocket defense system. The Israel Defense Forces overnight targeted "dozens of terror infrastructure sites," including the Ministry of Internal Security, which it saw as a "main command and control center." It took aim at a police compound, a "military hideout," and other targets it linked to what it called Hamas "terror activity." The Israeli military also struck a media building, where it said Hamas "deliberately located" an "intelligence operation center," and a system of tunnels used to transport fuel. Opinion: Israel is facing a new reality Al-Aqsa claimed two of their journalists were killed, when an Israeli strike targeted their car. CNN called the IDF about the accusation and is awaiting a response. The IDF also confirmed targeting bridges in central Gaza. Gazan authorities have reported at least 139 total dead in the conflict as of Wednesday, Israel has reported a total of five killed as of Tuesday. For hours at dawn Wednesday Palestinians could watch a fixed live image of day breaking over Gaza City flickering over state TV via a fixed camera. The scenes were deceptively serene. But recorded video inserted into newscasts showed bomb impacts, ambulances, a funeral, residents putting out a fire and rescuers digging through fresh rubble in the darkness to search for the living and the dead. The images hurled the stark reality of war into the sunrise skyline scene. Hopes for an imminent calm between Israel and Hamas were briefly raised then dashed Tuesday, as diplomats rushed to try to restore peace. On Tuesday, Clinton offered Israel the support of the United States and expressed hope for a lasting solution as she spoke to reporters alongside Netanyahu at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. She thanked Egypt and especially Morsy for their efforts. Hillary Clinton's farewell tour takes detour "President Obama asked me to come to Israel with a very clear message. America's commitment to Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering. That is why we believe it is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza," she said. "The goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike." There was a moment when it looked like the attacks might stop. A senior Hamas official told CNN a "calming down" would be announced at 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET). But that did not happen. Opinion: How this could be the last Gaza war Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri later said that Israel had not agreed to terms that would stop the fighting. Similarly, Egypt's Morsy said Tuesday the "travesty of the Israel aggression on Gaza will end in a few hours." But a few hours passed, and Morsy's office told CNN not to expect any announcement. A "calming down" could halt violence, but it is not the same as an official cease-fire or truce. Israel has said it wants a cease-fire agreement but has not indicated whether one could be imminent. "Obviously, no country can tolerate a wanton attack on its civilians," said Netanyahu, standing beside Clinton. "Now, if there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem through diplomatic means, we prefer that. But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever actions necessary to defend its people." According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 27 people were killed Tuesday, including children. More than 1,100 people in total have been injured. It's not clear how many of the victims were militants. More than 70 total have been injured in Israel, including soldiers, Israeli officials have said. Israel said it was holding off on a ground offensive into Gaza to give diplomatic efforts time. Those efforts include talks with Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A source familiar with discussions in Jerusalem told CNN, "One of the Israeli demands is that there should be a period of total calm for 24 hours before committing to any agreement." How this conflict reignited Speaking early Wednesday, Osama Hamdan, Hamas spokesman in Beirut, said he believes Hamas and Israel are close to a cease-fire agreement. "I can say that we are close, and we are on the edge. It may happen, and it may not," he said. Later, Hamdan added, "I believe there is a good chance to have a cease-fire, which can fulfill the needs of both sides." Prime minister spokesman Mark Regev said Israel is not interested in a "time out," allowing Hamas to regroup after Israeli strikes have done damage. "We want a new reality" in which Israelis don't live under rocket fire from Hamas, he said. To succeed, negotiations have to be done "discreetly," he said. Hamdan said Hamas' actions have been "a good lesson for the Israeli government. It's not good to attack the Palestinians, expecting that they will not react against the attack." Asked whether Hamas would accept Israel's right to exist, Hamdan said the Palestinian people would not consider it without an end to occupation. Smuggling weapons to Gaza -- the long way Tuesday's attacks included one aimed at Jerusalem, one that caused casualties in the southern town of Beer Sheva, and one that injured five Israeli soldiers. Another rocket hit a civilian building in Rishon LeZion, part of metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said. Netanyahu, at a news conference with Ban, said Israel was fighting back with "surgical operations against terrorists at a time when our own population is being bombarded by rocket attacks." "If we hope to make these tactics illegitimate, they should be condemned in the most forceful terms by all responsible members of the international community," he said. "The moment we draw symmetry between the victims of terror and the unintended casualties that result from legitimate military action against the terrorists, the minute that false symmetry is drawn, the terrorists win." In Israel, Iron Dome can't keep the fear away Speaking later at a news conference with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Ban urged diplomacy and said further escalation would put the region at risk. "The world is concerned, gravely concerned, at the rising loss of human lives. Further escalation would be dangerous and tragic for Palestinians and Israelis and would put the entire region at risk. I am here to appeal to all to halt fire and restore calm immediately," he said. "Further escalation benefits no one. Now is the time for diplomacy." Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said Ban was among those who had to take cover when sirens sounded in Jerusalem, warning of an incoming rocket. Military officials said the rocket landed in an open area of a village. Other violence Tuesday included 11 Hamas rockets that hit the Israeli city of Beer Sheva, causing casualties. More than 30 rockets were fired into the area, but most were destroyed by Israel's Iron Dome interceptors. In Tel Aviv, a man with an ax attacked a U.S. Embassy security guard, Israeli police said. The attacker, who also had a knife, was arrested, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. In Gaza, too young to understand but not to die The IDF dropped leaflets across parts of Gaza Tuesday warning residents to evacuate their homes and go to central Gaza City. The leaflets told them which way to go and what part of the city to stay in once they arrived. The messages are part of Israel's efforts to minimize civilian casualties, Israeli officials say. As a CNN crew was getting video of families fleeing an area in Gaza, an explosion shook the windows of a school, CNN's Arwa Damon reported. The target was a vehicle around the corner, and the strike killed two people, she said. Another Israeli airstrike hit a building that houses the local offices of Agence France-Presse in Gaza City. No one from the agency was injured, according to AFP. Also in Gaza, CNN saw a group of men drag the body of a man through streets from the back of a motorcycle. The men, who carried weapons, yelled in Arabic that he was a traitor and Israeli spy. Gaza has endured a crippling economic embargo since Hamas won control of the territory from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority after a landslide 2007 election that was followed by intra-Palestinian clashes. Many Arab and Muslim nations view Hamas as the victim of Israeli aggression. Diplomats hope to avoid a repeat of 2008-2009, when at least 1,400 people died when Israeli troops invaded Gaza after a similar spate of rocket attacks. CNN's Dana Ford, Josh Levs, Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman, Christiane Amanpour, Holly Yan, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Saad Abedine, Sara Sidner, Frederik Pleitgen, Kareem Khadder, Reza Sayah and Talia Kayali contributed to this report.