Israel Intensifies Attack On Gaza Strip, Raising Palestinian Death Toll To 96

Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. <AP Photo/Hatem Moussa>

Israeli rescue workers inspect the damage of a residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired by militants from Gaza Strip, in the Israeli central city of Rishon Lezion, near Tel Aviv, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. A diplomatic push to end Israel’s nearly weeklong offensive in the Gaza Strip gained momentum Tuesday, with Egypt’s president predicting that airstrikes would end within hours and Israel’s prime minister saying his country would be a “willing partner” to a cease-fire with the Islamic militant group Hamas. <AP Photo/Oded Balilty>