much for joining us and giving us perspective. video speaks for itself. great to hear from you. you stay safe. vivid descriptions of what been a long, long day. now to the other big story we re following this morning. escalating violence in the middle east. israel and gaza exchanging rocket fire with no end in sight. the leader of the islamic jihad saying they have fired 60 rockets as israel keeps hammering the militant group hamas. israel s defense minister saying the offensive may go on for days and may even expand, he says. want to bring in ben wedeman live right now in gaza city who has been surveying the damage there. ben? reporter: yes. actually you mentioned the rockets fired by islamic jihad. i think we saw some of them being fired and some immediate israeli air strikes in response not far from here. we re actually now to the northeast of gaza city where there s several homes in this area that have been hit.
distance behind me is gaza city. we ve been here for a few hours now, and there have been numerous israeli air strikes on the cities along the gaza strip. huge columns of smoke rising up from targets in the strip, and in return we have seen outgoing fire. one rocket landing literally the other side of this main road about 200 meters away. this is why the israeli defense forces have launched what they call operation protective edge to protect israeli citizens from the barrage of rockets coming out of the gaza strip. israel is now at the ready even sending troops to positions alongside the gaza border. this as rocket attacks between the jewish state and hamas continue to excalculate. overnight israeli defense forces say they struck 50 targets and air strikes across the gaza strip. at least ten injured. israel now launching a clear
and also invited rick perry to discuss the issue at greater length, still not clear to me whether a meeting will actually happen. right now there s a political dance there but we eel keep you abreast of the situation as it develops. absolutely. let s turn to the middle east where violence is spiraling out of control, duelling operations exchanging rocket fire with no end in sight. the armed wing of the palestinian islamic jihad says it has fired 60 rockets at israel in response to what it calls unjust aggression, while overnight israel hammered the militant group hamas with air strikes. israel s defense minister saying the offensive may go on for days and may even expand. aggression intensifying on both sides after the kidnapping and killings of israeli and palestinian teenagers. it s a story we ve been following very closely. diana magnate is near the gaza strip with the very latest. what is the latest? reporter: i m standing overlooking the gaza strip, the northern tip of it righ
offensive. their operation even given an official name, protective edge, using increased targeted air strikes and calling out several hundred reservists to willed up troops for possible ground maneuvers. israel s change in tactic comes to a response in uptick in rocket attacks from gaza with some 80 on monday alone, those strikes forcing hundreds from neighboring summer camps to be sent back home. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he will do whatever is necessary to stop the attacks. the hamas spokesman issuing a battle cry on facebook. the enemy has crossed the red lines and will be made to pay the price for its crimes. hamas even showing off its weaponry in a propaganda video on their military website. these explosive scenes of violence just painting a backdrop to mounting anger in jerusalem. tensions in the city, their worst in a decade. after the murders and beating of
this house behind me was hit about an hour ago. up the street another house was hit. in that instance two people were injured. when i was walking down the street, i found this in the street, a very large piece of metal shrapnel. this gives you an idea of when these missiles strike what happens. they go whiz willing all over the place. according to palestinian medical sources only 27 people have been wounded and one person, a person affiliated with the hamas movement, has been killed. they have destroyed up to now since yesterday evening 14 houses. many of these houses belonging to people affiliated with the hamas movement. for israel legitimate targets but keep in mind that they are not living by themselves, and in all of these houses they are women and children and old people, but in most cases, john, they get a call and they are told to leave the house immediately. most people in their right mind