In The New Yorker, David Remnick provides an overview of state of the conflict in the Middle East and perfectly summarizes its most dangerous and depressing element (and one that seems to be mirrored in various conflicts across the globe): “The most malign and extremist elements within this conflict — Israeli and Palestinian — grow in strength and deepen their conviction that there is no chance of accommodation. Childhood memories of terror and death accumulate, and cripple the moral and political imagination.”

+ Israel intensified attacks on Gaza and Netanyahu warned the military operations could go on for a lot longer.

+ David Ignatius: John Kerry’s big blunder in seeking an Israel-Gaza cease-fire and The Daily Beast on the Kerry-Israel meltdown. (In fairness to Kerry, we’re talking about peace in the Middle East.)

+ “I learned to empathize with the other side. I have friends who live in these places, in the West Bank and Gaza, that I care about, just as I care about Israeli soldiers.” Views on the conflict from a U.S. peace camp that unites Israelis and Palestinians.