Israel to ramp up deadly airstrikes on Gaza as rockets rain down and deaths mount on both sides

Israel's armed forces and Palestinian militants exchanged rocket fire on Tuesday as days of fighting centered around one of the holiest sites in the world for Muslims, Jews and Christians snowballed into another deadly flare-up in a decades-long conflict. The bloodshed was likely to get worse, as both sides indicated that they would escalate their attacks. 

NOTE: This article contains images of death that some readers may find disturbing. The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, a tiny parcel of land run by the Hamas group but with borders strictly controlled by Israel, said on Tuesday that at least 26 people had been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the territory, including nine children.