Unsurprisingly the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is falling apart. Hamas launched an attack firing a rocket into Israel Monday, and Israel has responded in turn with air attacks (Reuters). This is unfortunate but not unexpected. What is also unfortunate is the way the political dialogue is presenting the conflict.

An attack by Israeli warplanes injured 9 people today, including seven school children in what witnesses say was an attack on a member of Hamas who was riding on a motorcycle nearby. The raid came several hours after Israel bombed a metal foundry in Rafah that Israel claims was producing rockets.

Diplomatic sources now say that after three weeks of fighting, Israel is considering a unilateral halt to its Gaza offensive instead of a formal, Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. The sources said if there is a unileral truce, IDF forces would remain in Gaza.

Hamas says it will not accept Israeli conditions for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. At a special Arab League summit in Qatar Friday, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Arab leaders that Israel caused the conflict. He accused the Jewish state of waging war against all Palestinians, including women and children.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas are "very close" to an agreement on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni met in Tel Aviv with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon early Thursday afternoon. Ban arrived after talks Wednesday in Egypt and Jordan where he repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire. After his talks with Livni, Ban said the death toll in Gaza has reached an "unbearable point." He also expressed outrage at the reported IDF shelling and resultant fire at Gaza's United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA) on Thursday morning.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will seek clarifications from Egyptian officials Wednesday about progress on an initiative proposed by Cairo to end the violence in the Gaza Strip.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has charged Israel with using white phosphorous bombs in urban areas. These incendiary weapons are suspected in the case of 10 victims with serious burns.

Buried among the ever more alarming information concerning abuses and international humanitarian law violations committed by Israeli forces in the course of their operations in Gaza is information that has emerged regarding the transfer of Palestinian detainees to a military facility inside Israel. There, dozens of detainees are being held for interrogation as "unlawful combatants", in violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits such transfers.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel's military is fulfilling its goals in Gaza, but will continue the offensive against Hamas until troops have completely halted rocket attacks on southern Israel.

There is an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning saying that Israel is committing war crimes. It is powerful, and I recommend reading the whole piece, but here is my review and some clips.