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The Islamic movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, emerged during the first intifada, which began in 1987, says Ambassador Philip Wilcox, former chief of mission and U.S. consul general in Jerusalem. Wilcox says the group grew in strength by presenting itself as a clean alternative to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

In the Gaza Strip, there are differing opinions about the Egyptian uprising that's shaken the Arab world. About 1.5 million Palestinians live in that small slither of coastland which borders Egypt. Some fear a new Egyptian government could lead to Israel's military taking over Gaza's southern border.

The Gaza Strip will be unlivable by 2020 if nothing is done to alleviate the situation there, a recent U.N. report found. By almost every indicator, Palestinians in Gaza today are worse off than they were in the 1990s — squeezed by a high birthrate, dwindling resources and trade and travel restrictions.

A U.N. spokesman said Israeli tank shells hit the school Wednesday, killing 15 Palestinians and wounding 90. The agency is housing scores of people displaced by the fighting in schools across Gaza.

The attack near the Rafah border crossing that left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead is having repercussions in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the militant Islamist group Hamas. Its leaders hoped Egypt's new Islamist president would help Gaza break out of its isolation. Now, those efforts have suffered a major setback.

The Israeli government has passed measures to ease West Bank land purchases for settlers and strengthen control in the occupied territory

Tom Moon reviews music from British hip-hop sensation Dizzee Rascal. Moon says that no British hip-hop import has had much success in the states, but Dizzee may be the one to break through, with his CD Boy In Da Corner.

Secretary of State John Kerry is trying again to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, as casualty counts rise inexorably higher. NPR's Emily Harris explains both sides' demands.

Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip shows no sign of abating. The death toll inside Gaza is now close to 900. Israel stepped up the pace of its airstrikes. And Sunday, the ground offensive saw some of the fiercest fighting so far.

Israel's military attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip entered its third week as air and ground forces attacked more than 50 targets overnight and Saturday. Fierce fighting continues as both sides ignore a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Israel is preventing reporters from entering the Gaza Strip to cover the offensive against Hamas. Ayman Mohyeldin, a television reporter for Al-Jazeera English, has been in Gaza since the Israeli air strikes began. He says that the Israeli offensive has been punishing and that "there is no safe zone in Gaza."

After a week of bombing strikes from the air, Israel sent ground troops into Gaza on Saturday. The operation penetrated the territory at several points and was designed to seize areas of north Gaza being used to launch rockets against Israel, Israeli military officials said.