In the latest of several escalations over the past week, Israel fired shells into Syria early Sunday morning in retaliation for gunfire hitting an army vehicle in the Golan Heights. Shooting first occurred last Sunday when Syria fired across the U.N.-monitored ceasefire line and Israel responded with the first engagement in the area since the war of 1973. Within Israel, tensions are mounting as Hamas and Israeli troops exchange aerial attacks, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told President Obama that he had no intention of starting a ground war unless Hamas escalates rocket attacks.
