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With all the attention focused on Iraq the United States has a new problem to worry about as Israel launched its largest offensive in the Gaza Strip by carrying out a devastating aerial barrage, killing 19 people.

This aerial assault looks to be open-ended military operation to end the weeks of rocket fire by Hamas.

The Associated Press reported that the offensive set off the heaviest fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas since an eight-day battle in November 2012. The militants fired about 160 rockets at Israel, including two intercepted over Tel Aviv, while Israel said it attacked more than 150 sites across Gaza.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “”We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel’s defense forces are currently acting to put an end of this once and for all.”

After Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense shield shot down a rocket fired at Tel Aviv, Netanyahu issued a statement “We will not tolerate rocket fire against our cities and townships, and therefore I ordered a significant broadening of IDF (Israel Defense Force) operations against the terrorists of Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.”

Tensions have dramatically risen since three Israeli teenagers were killed and then further escalated with the revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.

The New York Times reported that in an ominous indication of further escalation, the Israeli government approved the call-up of 1,500 reservists, mainly Home Front Command and aerial defense units, and said later Tuesday that it had authorized the military to mobilize as many as 40,000 additional reservists if necessary for a possible ground invasion.

Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Yaalon, said, “Hamas is leading this current confrontation to a place in which it aspires to exact a heavy price from our home front.”

“In the last few hours we have attacked with force and struck dozens of Hamas’s assets,” Mr. Yaalon added, saying that the military was “continuing its offensive effort in a manner that will exact a very heavy price from Hamas.”

This does not look like to be any short term military campaign and could last weeks as we will know more of the situation on the ground in the next few days, but presently it does not look like both sides are backing down.

It’s ironic the situation has deteriorated to this point as President Obama wrote an op-ed in the Haaretz, Israel’s oldest newspaper that “all parties must protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not vengeance and retribution,” adding: “While walls and missile defense systems can help protect against some threats, true safety will only come with a comprehensive negotiated settlement.”

The president continued, “Peace is also, undeniably, just. Just as the Israeli people have the right to live in the historic homeland of the Jewish people, the Palestinian people deserve the right to self-determination.  Palestinian children have hopes and dreams for their future and deserve to live with the dignity that can only come with a state of their own.  And, in President Abbas, Israel has a counterpart committed to a two-state solution and security cooperation with Israel.”

The president also stated, “The United States has repeatedly made clear that any Palestinian government must uphold these long-standing principles: a commitment to non-violence, adherence to past agreements, and the recognition of Israel. With negotiations on hiatus, these principles are more important than ever. All parties must exercise restraint and work together to maintain stability on the ground.”

This looks like a long hot summer not only in Israel and the Gaza Strip, but all across the Middle East.