US President Barack Obama is offering to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.  Mr. Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, as Israel stepped up its aerial attacks on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in an attempt to thwart rocket fire targeting Israel.

Earlier UN Security General Ban Ki-moon said the Middle East could not afford “another full-blown war”, and urged both sides to hold ceasefire talks. 

“Gaza is on a knife-edge,” Ban warned the Security Council.  “The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get out of control.  The risk of violence expanding further still is real.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Proser rejected calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel would continue to pound Gaza as long as Hamas used it as a launching point for its rockets aimed at Israel.  The militant group has fired newly-acquired, Syrian-made M-302 rockets for the first time.  They have a range of 150 kilometers, putting many more Israelis in danger.  Although there has been damage to homes and buildings, no Israeli casualties have been reported.

But in Gaza, Israeli missiles are causing widespread death and damage.  They’re aiming for underground tunnel networks and the homes of militants.  But it’s a densely packed city of families living cheek to jowl, and Palestinians say more than 80 people have been killed since Tuesday.  At the hospitals, medical officials said at least 60 of them were civilians, including a four-year-old girl and a boy aged five who were killed on Thursday. 

Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the Security Council that President Mahmoud Abbas is formally accusing the Israeli government of war crimes for bombarding densely populated areas.  Israel says any civilian casualties are on Hamas’ hands.