The seven foul-smelling lagoons of sewage near Gaza's coast were supposed to be replaced by a globally funded waste-treatment plant. Instead, they epitomize the nightmare faced by foreign donors as they seek to rebuild the territory and open a pathway to peace. ...more

March 2, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate has confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton to become secretary of state. ...more

January 21, 2009

The hard part is still to come. Almost every significant issue between Hamas and Israel remains unresolved despite a unilateral cease-fire by Israel that went into effect before dawn Sunday in Gaza and Hamas' later announcement that it would halt fighting for one week. ...more

January 19, 2009

Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire Saturday in its 22-day offensive that turned Gaza neighborhoods into battlegrounds and dealt a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas. But Israeli troops will stay in the Palestinian territory for now and Hamas threatened to keep fighting until they leave. ...more

January 18, 2009

The Palestinian Authority president urged both Israel and Hamas to agree to an Egypt-brokered truce Saturday, but he singled out the Jewish state, saying it would be responsible for a "waterfall of blood" if it didn't accept the deal. ...more

January 11, 2009

ON THE ISRAELI-GAZA BORDER - Israeli troops and tanks, protected by heavy air, sea and artillery fire, sliced through the center of Gaza on Sunday, taking control of rocket-launching areas and surrounding the main city, as their government rebuffed diplomatic efforts to end the nine-day assault. ...more

January 5, 2009

Unwilling to control its fighters, who fired scores of missiles into Israel at the end of their six-month ceasefire, Hamas gave Israel the provocation it needed to deliver a savage blow to the Palestinian enclave in Gaza. ...more

January 1, 2009

Israeli warplanes pressing one of Israel's deadliest assaults ever on Palestinian militants dropped bombs and missiles on a top security installation, a mosque, a TV station and dozens of other targets across the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday. ...more

December 28, 2008

Gaza's deeply entrenched Hamas rulers won't be easily toppled, even by Israel's unprecedented bombings Saturday that killed more than 200 people, most of them men in Hamas uniform. ...more

December 28, 2008

Nearly 30 months after an Israeli soldier was captured, students demanded his release in a protest outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. ...more

December 22, 2008