From [HERE] The death toll of the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip continues to rise today, with Israeli officials promising a protracted offensive and patting themselves on the back for doing so. And while the war started with the assassination of a Hamas military leader, the more recent deaths suggest the strikes are having a big impact on Gaza’s civilian population.

Israeli violence has left 24 dead and 200 wounded in Gaza. A total of three Israelis have died from rocket-fire coming out of Gaza. President Obama has reiterated “US support for Israel’s right to self-defense.” Obama discussed the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. He also expressed regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives. [MORE] This does not look like self defense here - Israel's violence against civilians is not reasonable under the circumstances and Israel does not appear to be under any imminent threat of attack. It is deception/white supremacy to call this self-defense.

Palestinian medics wheel a wounded boy into the al-shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli air strike on November 14, 2012. [MORE] 

The Israeli military launch a missile from the Iron Dome missile system in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva into the Gaza Strip on November 15, 2012.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli town of Sderot shows smoke billowing from a spot targeted by an Israeli air strike inside the Gaza strip on November 15, 2012.

Palestinians inspect a destroyed building in an area targeted by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City in the early (sleeping) hours of November 15, 2012.

Palestinian youths inspect a destroyed mosque in Beit Hanun on the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli air raid on November 16, 2012

A Palestinian carries a wounded woman into a hospital after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City November 14, 2012.

An injured Israeli baby is held by a security officer inside an ambulance at the scene where a rocket, fired from Gaza, landed in the southern city of Kiryat Malachi November 15, 2012.

Marwan Abu El Qumsan, a teacher at a UN school, is among the victims, and the UN has had to close its schools because of the growing attacks. Children were also the victims of Israeli attacks, including the 11-month-old son of BBC editor Jihad Misharawi.

The exact split between fighters and civilians in the death toll is unclear, but it seems apparent that civilians are dying at a higher rate, and the massive numbers of wounded in attacks on residential areas seem dramatically skewed toward civilian bystanders.

Egypt’s prime minister, Hesham Kandil, visited Gaza to see the destruction and draw attention to the suffering on the Palestinian side, which is unfortunately underreported.

“No one can remain still and watch this tragedy unfold in this fashion,” Kandil said. “This is impossible. The whole world must intervene, and Israel must abide by the agreements and stop the aggression.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shrugged off complaints about the civilian toll, insisting there was no “moral symmetry” between Israeli air strikes killing civilians and Gaza rocket attacks doing so. Netanyahu added that he saw a photo of a bleeding Israeli baby and this proved there was no comparison. It was unclear if he saw the pictures of Misharawi’s slain infant son.