Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
At almost two years, Israel's conflict with Hamas is its longest ever. But this nonstop fighting is starting to take a toll on the region's most advanced economy.
Israel has cleared the way to build a controversial new settlement in the occupied West Bank, a move that has been condemned as the death knell for a future Palestinian state.
Israeli aircraft and tanks are pounding the region around Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians over the weekend, as part of a new, major offensive to capture Gaza City.