Israel Renews Attacks on Gaza

In the worst violence since both sides declared ceasefires, Israel today launched new air attacks and sent tanks and bulldozers into Gaza following a border explosion that killed an Israeli soldier, the BBC reports. There has been intense fighting in the south and a Palestinian farmer was killed. Israel closed Gaza border crossings following the explosion, halting rushed aid efforts.

Meanwhile in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed "Israel's right to self-defense” in her first news conference. "The rocket barrages, which are getting closer and closer to populated areas (in Israel), cannot go unanswered,” she said.
(More Arab Israeli conflict stories.)