Buildings turned to rubble. Body bags in the streets. Wailing sirens and shrieking rockets.
As generations of Israeli-Palestinian conflict bubbled into a fourth day of war Tuesday, there were scenes of both an expanding offensive and the conflict’s sorrowful results.
Soldiers on both sides of the battle geared up and moved into position, and the impact of weekend strikes became clearer. Flag-draped coffins were carried by mourners as funeral processions snaked through the region. Scenes of devastation, from windows shattered by bullets to neighborhoods leveled by blasts, grew along with the death toll.
The war brought a relentless string of developments: Of hostages being taken. Of children slain. Of gunbattles breaking out. Of borders clamping shut.
The battle’s opening days brought more than 1,800 deaths on both sides. As fear grew of what might come next, one thing seemed clear: That number will grow.
