This past weekend was the deadliest of the two-week-long combat operations in the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, 95 Palestinians were killed in fighting along with 13 soldiers fighting in the Israeli Defense Force, according to the Associated Press.
One of those soldiers killed in the conflict was 21-year-old South Padre, Texas native Sean Carmeli. Carmeli moved to Israel four years ago after finishing high school and was a member of the country's elite Golani Brigade along with California native Max Steinberg, who also died in fighting on the Gaza Strip. Both held American-Israeli citizenship.
"To Sean’s family and friends, he served and died as a hero defending Israel. They have a nation’s deepest condolences,” Maya Kadosh, Deputy Consul of Israel to the Southwest United States said. “While we are deeply saddened by all loss of soldiers and innocent life in the battle against terrorism, his death is weighing particularly heavy on our hearts."
In total, nearly 420 Palestinians and 20 Israelis have been killed in the escalating conflict. Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News that Israeli forces will continue their offensive in Palestine until a "sustainable quiet" is reached. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council yesterday to address the conflict.
Secretary of State John Kerry is in Egypttoday to broker a possible cease-fire between Israel and Palestine.