AMNA NAWAZ: Well, day nine of the battle between Israel and militants in Gaza has come and
gone with still no sign of a cease-fire. Late today, another barrage of rockets was fired
from Gaza into Israel. Overall, the two sides report more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen
Israelis killed to date. And at least one person died today in the West Bank. John Yang
has our report. JOHN YANG: In Israel and the West Bank, streets normally bustling with
activity were empty today, as Palestinians went on a general strike, an unusual joint
action to show solidarity with Gaza and to protest their own treatment by Israel. DIAA
RABAYA'A, East Jerusalem Resident (through translator): The strike is a must on all of
us, as youth, to take part in this strike, to stop working for at least a day, to create
some change in Jerusalem and the country. JOHN YANG: Hundreds of thousands gathered
in central squares, waving Palestinian flags. MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, Secretary-General, Palestinian
National Initiative: This is reflecting the common struggle of Palestinians, not only
against apartheid, but it is also a voice of solidarity with our people who are being
bombarded now in Gaza. JOHN YANG: Tensions flared when Israeli soldiers moved to disperse
crowds. On the West Bank, they fired tear gas canisters at protesters who had been burning
tires. In East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, police fired stun grenades and deployed a
water cannon, this as the Israeli military operations against Hamas militants in Gaza
maintained their steady pace. This morning, desks, chairs and books from a Gaza City university
building lay scattered over a pile of rubble. Next door, Jamal Herzallah and his family
cleaned up the damage to their home. Israeli forces had given them five minutes' notice
of the attack, just enough time to escape. JAMAL HERZALLAH, Gaza Resident (through translator):
What's this at the hour of 5:30 in the morning? The people were still sleeping. The planes
struck the street, our lives. We had no idea where we wanted to go or where to run. JOHN
YANG: In Rafah, to the south, residents said an Israeli tank shell started a massive fire
at a paint factory. Two million Palestinians in Gaza have been caught in a crossfire that
broke out last week when Hamas, which controls the territory, began firing rockets into Israel.
Israeli officials say they are acting to protect Israelis. LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, International
Spokesperson, Israel Defense Forces: That's the focus, to degrade the capabilities of
Hamas and Islamic Jihad so that, in the future they will pose less of a threat against Israeli
civilians. There's still a lot of work in terms of their underground infrastructure
and in terms of the capacity to fire rockets. At this stage, still, unfortunately, if Hamas
decides to fire rockets at Tel Aviv, unfortunately, they still have the capacity to do so. JOHN
YANG: Explosions in Gaza City roared through the night, as flashes from Hamas' rockets
fired toward Israel illuminated the sky. Israel said they tallied up to 90 rockets fired,
though 20 of them fell short into Gaza and many more were intercepted by Israel's anti-missile
defense system. Rockets that did get through this afternoon struck a farm in Southern Israel.
Police said two Thai workers were killed. And a building in the coastal city of Ashdod
also suffered a hit, more violence as international efforts to broker peace stalled again. While
traveling in Denmark, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said diplomatic efforts behind
the scenes are ongoing. TONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: Our goal remains to bring
the current cycle of violence to an end as quickly as possible and then bring the parties
back to the work of building lasting stability. JOHN YANG: A goal that doesn't appear to be
in sight, as Israeli military officials say they expect operations in Gaza to continue
for days to come. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.