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While the eyes of the world are turned to Syria, Iraq, and Libya, Israel has resumed its military operation against Gaza. Airstrikes this morning severely damaged one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, killing two people and wounding 20. More than a hundred Palestinians have died in a fresh round of about 350 air strikes since last week, bringing the total death toll to over 2000. The dead include a 27-year old journalist and a 3 year old toddler since last week alone.

Meanwhile Egypt has proposed a new ceasefire agreement, that, according to a Palestinian spokesperson, “opens the crossings, [and] allows aid and reconstruction material.” The reference to the crossings, is the Egyptian controlled Rafah crossing. As of this morning it appears as though both sides may have agreed.

Israel continues to blame Hamas for stoking tensions with its rocket attacks, which have continued in recent days. Hamas has also been in the news for publicly executing 18 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. And, a Hamas spokesperson recently admitted to the media that it was members of his organization that did in fact kill the three Israeli teens whose deaths were used to justify Israeli strikes. The group’s top leadership was apparently not informed of the killings. Hamas has also joined in the calls to take Israel to the International Criminal Court even though, if such a move transpires, it could open the group to accusations of war crimes also.

GUEST: Simona Sharoni, professor of gender and women’s studies at SUNY Plattsburgh and the author of Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Politics of Women’s Resistance