Word: gaza
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...cycle of violence spiraled over the next 48 hours. Palestinians fired more rockets, and the Israelis struck back with air strikes and a ground asssault, killing 21 Palestinians including four children, according to Gaza sources...
...Israeli government is under mounting pressure from civilians living within range of Gaza's rocket barrages, and from right-wing politicians, to launch a major ground offensive inside the coastal strip that houses 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel, strongly supported by Washington, has tightened its siege on Gaza in the hope of stopping the constant rocket attacks...
...Israeli military is drawing up battle plans for an assault on Gaza, but neither the cabinet nor the generals are keen on reconquering the teeming Palestinian territory, a move that could lead to heavy casualties among Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians, and that could drag on for months...
...Israeli sweep into Gaza could also play into the hands of Hamas. Sources within the organization have told TIME that there is nothing the military commanders within Hamas would like better than to provoke a major Israeli assault. Hamas would count on an international backlash against Israel if it were to roll its tanks into Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, for a long and messy occupation. Even Israel's firmest ally, the U.S. might not approve such a potentially bloody move. Security aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have said they had been told...
...Hamas leaders favor goading Israel into attacking Gaza, however. More pragmatic leaders within the militant organization know that any public relations victory against Israel would be offset by heavy Palestinian casualties. These moderates are advocating a "cooling down" period with Israel. Nor was it lost on Hamas leaders that Israeli aircraft destroyed the empty Interior Ministry building as a reminder that if the fighting escalates, Israel might begin targeting Hamas' political leadership...