we now turn to abc news correspondent alexander marquardt in gaza. alex, tell me, what is the sense of where you are now? is there a feeling we are seeing the beginning of an all-out war between the israelis and the palestinians? >> feels like we're on the edge of it. all day, theres to the chorus of sounds of war, missiles from israel, buzz of drones overhead, artillery from offshore or outgoing rocket fire, there does feel like a place under siege, but, at the same time, life hasn't completely ground to a halt. people are still out in the streets. there is less hustle and bustle. fewer people are out doing errands. on the other side of the border in israel, i was talking to friends who say in tel aviv, people are searching, on the beach, in cafes, but, at the same time, you have the sirens going off all the time across israel, people looking for cover, rockets incoming being intercepted by the iron dome in the skies above. the secretary general of the u.n. today said that this region is on an ice edge and it certainly does feel like that. it feels

alexander marquardt joins us from gaza. >> there's a huge amount of outrage and you look at the deathl. the vast majority of people who have been killed are civilians, not militants, and a lot are women and children. so when you drive around the gaza strip and you see the houses that have been blown apart that have massive craters in them, people lost their livelihoods, they're not turning around and say we want hamas to stop firing rockets, they're saying, we want revenge, we want you to keep firing the rockets. >>urther consideration in the middle east with vice admiral bob harward and former acting director of the c.i.a. john mclaughlin. >> it's a more existential threat to neighboring

alexander marquardt has been there from the beginning of the latest conflict and is joining us live fromcity. what's the latest there? >> reporter: good morning. overnight, israel stepped up the air strikes on the gaza strip targeting the home of senior hamas and islamic jihad officials. we understand at least one home, that of senior hamas official zahar has been flattened. this as palestinian militants continue to fire rockets in to israel setting off warning sirens across the south and central parts of the country including tel aviv where we understand the iron dome missile shield did intercept several of the rockets. this follows of course the disappointment over the failure of the cease fire yesterday, which had been proposed by egypt, agreed to by israel, which abstained from air strikes yesterday morning for around six hours, but hamas and the other groups here wholeheartedly rejected it, saying they had not been consulted on the finer points of that cease fire deal. prime minister netanyahu of israel saying he then had no choice but to expand operations against hamas here in gaza

abc's alexander marquardt is in the gaza strip. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, this is the most intense fighting we have seen since this conflict started two weeks ago. and as israeli forces advance deeper into gaza, they're taking their worst losses in eight years. at least 18 soldiers confirmed killed, among them, two israeli-americans confirmed killed. yesterday was deadly, 70 palestinians killed in one eastern gaza neighborhood, after relentless shelling by israeli forces. and as the death toll grows, so does international pressure to broker a cease-fire. secretary of state john kerry arriving in cairo today to help strike a deal. amy? >> alex marquardt, thank you. >>> and the newest sinkhole in florida, will be filled with cement. four homes near tampa were evacuated, it grew to 100 feet across and 30 feet deep. >>> well, if you fly, get ready to pay more in tsa fees. starting today, the security agency is tacking on $5.60 for every plane ticket, that's up from $2.50 for a nonstop flight and $5 for a connecting