Violence at the Gaza frontier

The Heat

The crisis in the Middle East intensifies as Israel launches airstrikes into Gaza and Hamas fires rockets into the heart of Tel Aviv. The UN has called for a ceasefire.

Just one week ago, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens and the killing of a Palestinian teenager had leaders calling for restraint.

However, de-escalation of the age-old conflict between Israel and Palestine did not ensue. Both Hamas and Israel have been firing rockets across the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Armed Forces are currently preparing to potentially send ground troops into Gaza in the midst of deaths and injuries on both sides from the violence. The hostilities are the most serious since the eight-day war in 2012.

Israel has hit hundreds of Hamas targets as part of “Operation Protective Edge,” killing dozens of Palestinian civilians and injuring hundreds. The Israeli government claims that Hamas is using civilians as “human shields.”

International responses to Israel’s actions are mixed. The United States backs the actions of their oldest ally in the Middle East, while the UN is calling for immediate ceasefire.

For the latest on these developments, CCTV’s Roee Ruttenberg reports from Tel Aviv.

Paul Hirschson, spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joined CCTV’s Asieh Namdar to discuss Israel’s actions at the Gaza frontier.

Raghida Dergham, a columnist and Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for the London-based Al-Hayat, joined The Heat to discuss the violence between Israel and Hamas.