Israel – Palestine conflict enters in the second week

Just past midnight on Monday, militants launched rockets at the southern Israeli cities of Beersheba and Ashkelon. Witnesses said Israeli planes launched dozens of air strikes. The Israeli military said a Hamas intelligence complex was among the targets.

Battles were waged in the skies above Israel and the ground below Gaza City, as Israel bombarded the network of Hamas tunnels and tried to shoot down Hamas rockets.

Israeli warplanes unleashed a fierce air bombardment on Gaza City before dawn on Monday as Hamas militants in the coastal enclave continued to target towns in southern Israel with barrages of rockets, bringing the conflict into a second, grinding week of bloodshed and destruction.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to restore order and quiet,” Netanyahu said during a television appearance. The overnight bombardment came after the deadliest day of the conflict, which included a strike in Gaza City that left three buildings flattened and killed at least 42 people.

The Israeli military said it had been targeting the area of tunnels used by militants that runs beneath the city and that when the tunnels collapsed, the buildings came tumbling down as well. Among the dead, yet again, were children.