Israelis, Gazans seek shelter on both sides of conflict
Frightened citizens of the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon ran for cover on Tuesday, as rockets exploded overhead...
...as the cross-border violence between Israel and Palestinian militants extended into a ninth day... with no end in sight.
Just a few miles away, Natanel Sharvit, his wife, and four children have been living in an Israeli rocket shelter under the near-constant threat of attacks launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip, just 12 miles from their home.
SHARVIT: "The kids suffer from anxieties, they're afraid to sleep in our home. As you can see we are staying in the shelter and hoping for the best, that this situation will be over and we'll be able to live better, normally."
Sharvit and his family are no more in control of the air war raging above their heads than the Palestinian civilians living on the other side of the Israeli military barrier that separates north Gaza from southern Israel.
Many Palestinians have fled to schools run by the U.N.'s refugee agency - like this one in Gaza City - where classrooms have become dormitories for the displaced.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency estimates that 47,000 Palestinians are now camped out in the 58 education establishments it runs in Gaza.
Israeli air strikes have pounded Gaza day and night since the conflict flared on May 10, and Israel says the strikes will continue as long as necessary to destroy Hamas military sites and kill its leaders.
Gaza medical officials said more than 200 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,400 have been wounded.
In Israel, authorities say 12 people have died, as of Tuesday.
