Israeli forces continue to pound the Gaza Strip today and the death toll continues to rise precipitously, with at least 693 Palestinians now confirmed killed, overwhelmingly civilians. At least 181 children have been killed.
Israel had two more soldiers slain as well, bringing the Israeli toll to 34 people dead, 32 of whom were military personnel. Another Israeli soldier was reported missing, fueling speculation about claims of Hamas capturing one.
The UN Security Council is continuing to push for a ceasefire, though there is no indication that any new progress has been made on that front, while Israeli officials continue to talk up further escalation.
Palestinian civilians continue to try to flee around the strip finding some safe place to hide, though there don’t appear to be any. One Greek Orthodox church agreed to shelter some 1,000 civilians, but was already in the cross-hairs of Israeli shelling. Others have sought refuge at UN schools, hospitals or other sites known by Israel to be totally civilian in nature, though this does not seem to make them significantly less likely to come under attack.
