Photos: Israel – Hamas conflict, November 19, 2012

Posted Nov 19, 2012

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 100, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. Escalating its bombing campaign over the weekend, Israel began attacking homes of activists in Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. These attacks have led to a sharp spike in civilian casualties, killing 24 civilians in just under two days and doubling the number of civilians killed in the conflict, a Gaza health official said.

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Smoke rises following an Israeli attack on smuggling tunnels on the border between Egypt and Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba)
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A Palestinian woman reacts in front of a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 19, 2012. Hostilities between Islamist militants and Israel entered a sixth day on Monday as diplomatic efforts were set to intensify to try to stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli air strikes on Gaza. International pressure for a ceasefire seemed certain to mount after the deadliest single incident in the flare-up on Sunday claimed the lives of at least 11 Palestinian civilians, including four children. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Israeli artillery shells attack a target in the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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Israeli artillery shells attack a target in the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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An Israeli child plays in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter on November 19, 2012 in Nitzan, Israel. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
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Israeli soldiers prepare weapons in a deployment area on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence.' (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
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A Palestinian firefighter gestures as smoke rises out of a building that also houses international media offices, after an Israeli air strike witnessed by a Reuters journalist, in Gaza City November 19, 2012. An Islamic Jihad local commander was killed on Monday in an Israeli air strike on a tower block that houses many international media, a source in the militant group said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
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A Palestinian demonstrator wearing a rosary holds a stone during minor clashes with Israeli troops in protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank village of Bir Zeit, near Ramallah November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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Smoke and fire are seen from an explosion by a high rise housing media organizations in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. It's the Israel's military second strike on the building in two days. The Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, is located on the top floor. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
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An Israeli air force jet fighter plane takes off from Tel Nof air force base for a mission over Gaza Strip in central Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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A Palestinian man kisses the hand of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. President Barack Obama on Sunday defended Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, but he warned that escalating the offensive with Israeli ground troops could deepen the death toll and undermine any hope of a peace process with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
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Israeli border policemen run during a protest against the Israeli military operations in Gaza Strip near the West Bank city of Nablus, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)
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Birds fly as a plume of smoke is seen over central Gaza Strip, after an airstrike by Israeli forces, as seen from the Israel Gaza border, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
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Israeli soldiers lie on the ground as an Iron Dome missile is launched near the city of Ashdod, Israel, Monday Nov 19. 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (AP Photo/Moti Milrod)
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Black smoke rises after an Israeli air strike and smoke trails are seen as three rockets are launched from the central Gaza Strip towards Israel November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
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Palestinians gather around a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave dropped off as international efforts to broker a truce intensified. Ten civilians and two field commanders from the Islamic Jihad faction were killed and at least 30 other Palestinians were hurt in the new air strikes, hospital officials said, bringing the death toll from six days of clashes in Gaza to 85. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Israeli soldiers prepare weapons in a deployment area on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence.' (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
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Israeli soldiers prepare an artillery emplacement overlooking Gaza on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence.' (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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Israeli artillery shells attack a target in the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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Israelis take cover in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 in Nitzan, Israel. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
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An Israeli youth cries after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 in Ashkelon, Israel. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
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A Palestinian firefighter tries to extinguish a fire after an Israeli air strike, witnessed by a Reuters journalist, on a floor in a building that also houses international media offices in Gaza City November 19, 2012. An Islamic Jihad local commander was killed on Monday in an Israeli air strike on a tower block that houses many international media, a source in the militant group said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
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A Palestinian protester (L) uses a sling to throw a stone at Israeli security forces as others take cover during minor clashes against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank village of Birzeit, near Ramallah November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards northern Gaza from its position outside the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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A General view of the border area between Rafah and Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip is seen during sunset November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Relatives of Rushdi Tamimi who died of his injuries sustained two days ago during clashes with Israeli security forces in Nabi Saleh. West Bank, cry in a Ramallah hospital, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
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Palestinian protesters throw stones towards Israeli security forces during clashes against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, at Qalandiya checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Hasidic Jewish men, from the Breslov sect, dance with Israeli troops during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Nir Elias
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Black smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza Strip towards Israel November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
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A soldier holds an Israeli flag as he dances with Hasidic Jewish men, from the Breslov sect, during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Nir Elias
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Israeli soldiers stand near the damaged door of a mosque in the West Bank village of Orif, near Nablus November 19, 2012. Vandals set fire to the entrance of the West Bank mosque on Monday, damaging the door, in an attack that villagers blamed on Jewish settlers. The Israeli army said it was called to the scene and is investigating the incident. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
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Palestinian stone-throwers run away from tear gas fired by Israeli border policemen during clashes against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, at Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
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An Israeli soldier checks his ammunition in a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. The Palestinian civilian death toll mounted Monday as Israeli aircraft struck densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip in a campaign to quell militant rocket fire menacing nearly half of Israel's population. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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A Hasidic Jewish man, from the Breslov sect, is carried on the shoulders of an Israeli soldier during a visit to support the troops, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Nir Elias
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A Palestinian man carries a stuffed toy in a street littered with debris after a Israeli air raid on a nearby sporting centre in Gaza City on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed 31 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified. AFP PHOTO/MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images
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An Israeli soldier holds up a Torah scroll as others reach to touch it in a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. The Palestinian civilian death toll mounts as Israel ferociously pursues Gaza Strip militants who are menacing nearly half of Israel's population with rocket fire. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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A supporter of Pakistan's outlawed Islamic hardline group Jamaat ud Dawa (JD) stands on an Israeli flag during a protest in Karachi on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 13 Palestinians on November 19, hiking the Gaza death toll to 91 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. AFP PHOTO/Asif HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
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Palestinians run as tear gas is fired by Israeli security during a protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 22 Palestinians, hiking the Gaza death toll to 99 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. /AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images
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Israeli troops cheer as a Hasidic Jewish man, from the Breslov sect, dances during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Nir Elias
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Pakistani children from the group Pasban light oil lamps during a vigil for child victims who were killed in air strikes by Israeli forces on Gaza, in Karachi on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 13 Palestinians on November 19, hiking the Gaza death toll to 91 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. /AFP PHOTO/Asif HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
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Birzeit University students clash with Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint close to the university as they protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 13 people, raising the Palestinian death toll to 90 as Israel's relentless air campaign entered its sixth day. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images
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Israelis watch a military Iron Dome defense missile system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
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A Palestinian man cries next the body of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. President Barack Obama on Sunday defended Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, but he warned that escalating the offensive with Israeli ground troops could deepen the death toll and undermine any hope of a peace process with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
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Smoke trails are seen after ordnance were fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City towards southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
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A Palestinian inspects damaged cars following an Israeli air strike in Rafah southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Hatem Omar)
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A Palestinian boy walks up the stairs of a house destroyed on Sunday by an Israeli strike in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. The Palestinian civilian death toll mounted Monday as Israeli aircraft struck densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip in its campaign to quell militant rocket fire menacing nearly half of Israel's population. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
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Dr. Doron J. Lurie senior curator and chief conservator at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art adjusts his gloves before taking Abraham Breughel's Still Life of Fruit with a Bird, left, and Jan Breughel's Adoration of the Kings paintings into the museum's vault in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Tel Aviv's Art Museum, one of Israel's premiere museums, has moved 200 of its most precious works of art to a rocket-proof vault in case of a missile attack. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
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Palestinians carry injured people out of a media center in Gaza City that was hit by an Israeli strike for the second time in two days Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad says the strike on the building killed one of its top militant leaders. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
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Fireworks are thrown at Israeli security forces during clashes against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, in Qalandia checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Nov 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
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Israeli border policemen stand guard during a protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip in Birzeit, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)