Death toll rises as violence escalates between Israel, Hamas

Tensions in the Middle East have risen to new heights as deadly confrontations continued unabated Wednesday between Israel's military and Hamas.

Tensions in the Middle East have risen to new heights as deadly confrontations continued unabated Wednesday between Israel's military and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group ruling the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces said on Twitter early Wednesday that Hamas and other militant groups had fired more than 1,000 rockets into central and southern Israel over the past two days, targeting cities including Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beersheba, Tel Aviv and the capital, Jerusalem. In response, the Israel Defense Forces unleashed hundreds of airstrikes aimed at what it said were Hamas and other terror targets in the Gaza Strip, where two million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by neighboring Israel and Egypt since Hamas took control of the 140-square-mile territory in 2007. The civilian death toll has been increasing on both sides. At least 53 people, including 14 children and three women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the violence escalated Monday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Another 320 people have been wounded there, including 86 children and 39 women.