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The fighting continues between Israel and Hamas with no letup in sight.  Israeli tanks and aircraft struck hard in the Gaza Strip as the United States and other regional actors desperately try to broker a cease fire.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Palestinian health officials say 718 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed since the conflict began on July 8.  More than 400 Palestinians have lost their lives since the start of the Israeli operation’s ground phase on July 17.

CBS News reported, the Israeli military says it has lost 32 soldiers in the attempt to halt rocket fire from Gaza and destroy cross-border tunnels, including three troops killed Wednesday. Two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker in Israel have also been killed.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in the region to pursue truce efforts, says some modest progress has been made. He returned to Cairo late Wednesday after talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

I doesn’t look there will be a quick end to the fighting.

The Reuters news agency reports Science Minister Yaakov Peri, a former security chief, told the Walla news site, “I do not see a ceasefire in the coming days where the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) leave” because Israeli troops need more time to destroy the tunnels.

CBS News continued to report that on the ground, meanwhile, Israeli troops backed by tanks and aerial drones clashed with Hamas fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles on the outskirts of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, killing at least eight militants, according to a Palestinian health official. Hundreds of people fled their homes as the battle unfolded, flooding into the streets with what few belongings they could carry, many with children in tow. They said they were seeking shelter in nearby U.N. schools.

“The airplanes and airstrikes are all around us,” said Aziza Msabah, a resident of the city in the southern Gaza Strip. “They are hitting the houses, which are collapsing upon us.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met for the second time in many days with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, after having flown into Israel despite a ban by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on all commercial flights into Israel, because of rocket fire into Ben-Gurion Airport.

Both Israel and Hamas have hardened their positions with Israel insisting it has to curb the military capabilities of Hamas.  Hamas has demanded the lifting of the devastating blockaded by Israel and Egypt.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal stated, “When it comes to the balance of power in this crisis between us and Israel, they are the executioners, the aggressors, the occupiers, the settlers, and we are the true owners of the land,” he said from his home-in-exile in Doha, Qatar. “We will not accept anything but the end of the siege.”

Right now Kerry has a daunting task ahead as neither side has any faith in the United States, or for that matter President Obama, especially Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This also extends to Egyptian President, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi who tried to broker a cease fire last week that Hamas rejected.

As of right now the fighting continues.