Yesterday, Israel launched air-strikes against the Hamas governed Gaza Strip. F16's and Apache helicopters rained missiles down upon 150 targets yesterday and today, killing at least 280 people and wounding about 600 people (though some estimates are as high as 700). Israel's Defense Minister (and former PM) Ehud Barak said that the operation ('Operation Cast Lead') in Gaza were going to continue and expand: "This will not be a short operation. The war on terrorism is an ongoing one, and we will have to stand firm in order to change the situation in the south." The breakdown of the 6 month Egyptian-brokered truce ended December 19th, which Hamas failed to renew because of Israel's failure to uphold the terms of the truce. A tit-for-tat, eye-for-an-eye, escalation ensued, resulting in the violence over the past few days. Whereas there have been massive Palestinian casualties, only one Israeli has been killed and 4 have been wounded from the 110 rockets that Hamas militants fired into Israel.


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