Today, at least two UN officials have flatly declared that three or more white phosphorous shells were part of the attack today that set a UN building and compound ablaze in Gaza City.

It might be pushing the envelope to call Obama the peacemaker here, but it's hard to deny that his impending entrance to the world stage has an effect.

To me, Gaza is personal. As an Israeli infantry officer, I served in Gaza before, during, and after the 2005 Disengagement.

Originally published on GroundReport.com, the citizen journalism platform that covers world news at the local level. One week ago, in an effort to s...

The losses on both sides will be all in vain if the final outcome of the war does not substantially improve both the prospects for an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace.

While there certainly is an underlying rivalry between Israel and Iran that has come to fuel many other otherwise unrelated conflicts in the region, not every war Israel fights is related to Iran.

The absence of international journalists from the streets of Gaza allowed Israeli spokespersons to spin the rational of the war mostly unopposed.

Surely Israel has as much right to defend its citizens as did the United States and Great Britain during World War II. Why then is Israel singled out for such ferocious criticism?

Why is it so easy to blame the Jews as aggressors even when it is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are the innocent victims?

The first reason for a ceasefire now is to stop the killing. The second is to ensure that a year or two from now we are not all wishing that Hamas was still in charge.

Israel has accused Hamas of intentionally attacking from civilian-populated areas, driving up casualties among non-combatants to provoke anger against Israel. But do children have to pay the price?

If Hamas bombs actually started falling on Dimona or Tel Aviv, would the "peace camp" still be harping against "military solutions" and calling for "immediate cease-fires?"

On January 11, an estimated 10,000 people rallied in front of the Israeli consulate in New York in support of Israel's attack on Gaza. The event was a festive affair that began and ended with singing and joyous dancing.

Dear G-d/Allah, It's me Yvonne, are you there? As you know since December 27th, 2008, Hamas and Israel have been at war. Over 800 Palestinians and...

The whole world is quick to condemn Israel for civilian deaths in Gaza, but there is utter silence over Hamas's blatant disregard for the lives of its own citizens.

Unless Israel can make five to seven million Palestinians disappear, it must find some way to co-exist with them. Israeli leaders on the center and right continue to avoid facing this fact.

Campbell Brown said, "much of the information coming out of Gaza is impossible to verify and many of the images you see on television are provided by Hamas." This is total nonsense.

The trouble with Israel and Russia is not that their efforts will backfire, it's that they will likely achieve the exact opposite of their goals -- while both come off looking like unhinged bullies in the process.

While much of the neo-Nazi fringe remains opposed to the existence of Israel, the whites-only British National Party recently declared its full-throated support for Israel's attack on Gaza.

Once the master of revolutionary war, Israel cannot seem to grasp the essential nature of asymmetrical warfare.