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Overnight air raids on Gaza pushed the Palestinian death toll to more than 80, with more than 700 wounded. The numbers on the Israeli side are dramatically lower — with three dead. And the Israeli prime minister says Israel is prepared to escalate the fight with ground troops. As the fighting drags into a new week, the United Nations and the Arab League are stepping up efforts to mediate.

As violence intensifies between Israelis and Palestinians, politics is playing a big role in how governments in the region are reacting. Israel has an election coming up, while Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is navigating new territory and Syria is hoping for a distraction. Host Scott Simon talks with Rob Malley of the International Crisis Group.

Ahmed Jabari, the commander of Hamas' military wing who has long been on Israel's "most-wanted" list, is dead, according to what Hamas and Israeli officials are telling news outlets. The strikes follow rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Israel.

Agricultural products are the biggest export from the Gaza Strip, but nothing grown there is allowed in the West Bank or Israeli markets. Is the real reason security or competition?

Syrian Kurds ran their own autonomous region for 12 years after breaking away from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Now, in the new Syria, they are being forced to relinquish that autonomy, losing much of what they fought for.

The Hamas government says it has an important relic: an ancient statue of the god Apollo, found by a fisherman. It hopes the bronze figure attracts foreign interest but hasn't yet shown it publicly.

It will be hard to make sure that concrete needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory's demolished buildings isn't diverted to Hamas, the militant group that had been tunneling into Israeli towns.

Hamas and Israel stopped fighting weeks ago. But feuding continues between the two main factions on the Palestinian side — Hamas and Fatah. Their battle has an impact on relations with Israel as well.

The war between Israel and Hamas completely destroyed over 9,000 homes in Gaza. Not one has been rebuilt. Some, like the Otaish family, are cramming into the rubble-strewn rooms that remain.

Both sides have traded barbs and criticism over the other's policies. Some believe the public feud stems from a personal animosity between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A few tense hours were marred by Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes, but since then, things seem to be quiet.

The two sides attended the indirect, Egypt-mediated talks Monday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, but The Associated Press quoted a senior Israeli official saying the talks had not gone well.