Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of rockets fired at Israeli homes over the last few days. Now the international community is attempting to bring a halt to the bloodiest clashes since Israel withdrew from Gaza in August 2006. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities are accusing one another of being behind the escalation in violence. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas say Israel is not merely trying to halt the rocket fire but to kill and injure indiscriminately. Israel maintains its aerial and ground attacks are in response to the intolerable situation for residents of Israeli towns and villages in the range of the Palestinian rockets.