A Potential Cease-Fire in Israel-Gaza Conflict
A potential cease-fire was discussed Tuesday after Egypt's president predicted air strikes would soon end. Israel's prime minister said his country would be a willing partner to a cease fire agreement with the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The death toll from the Israel-Gaza conflict continued to rise Tuesday as Hezbollah, the region's leading anti-Israel resistance force, encouraged the Palestinians, pledging support and asking Arab states to send weapons to fight Israel.
While the group has it's own missile arsenal, Hezbollah is being cautious with the Gaza crisis. If it were to join aza's Hamas militants it would likely raise protest from many in Lebanon who accuse the Shiite guerrillas of dragging the country into a war with Israel.
"Condemning Israeli violence while standing by a Syrian regime that is killing its own people definitely highlights the hypocrisy of Hezbollah's Syria stance, " Randa Slim, a research fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, told the AP.
Activists said close to 40,000 people have been killed in 20 months of fighting in Syria. The violence committed by Assad's rule against the Sunni-dominated uprising undermined the "Axis of Resistance"- the anti-Israeli and anti-American alliance of Syria, Iran, Hezboloah and Hamas.
"The U.S. should stop providing military aid in excess of $9 billion per year to Israel because then they will not be able to use excessive force upon a civilian population," Karin Elachkar, a senior at USC said.
Israel demands an end to rocket attacks from Gaza while Hamas asks Israel to halt attacks on Gaza and lift restrictions on trade and movement.
