REBECCA ROBERTS, host:
We're back with All Things Considered from NPR News. I'm Rebecca Roberts. This is day 15 of Israel's war with Hamas. The Israeli military keeps attacking by ground and air in Gaza. And today the Israeli air force dropped a different kind of message from its planes in the form of leaflets threatening an escalation.
More than 800 Palestinians have died since the war began, according to medical authorities in Gaza. At least 13 Israelis have been killed, most of them soldiers. Both Israel and Hamas are ignoring a U.N. Security Council demand for a cease-fire. Diplomatic talks continue in Cairo on a separate cease-fire plan.
NPR's Mike Shuster joins us now from Jerusalem. Mike, what can you tell us about these leaflets? What do they say exactly?
MIKE SHUSTER: Well, the leaflets are written in Arabic. There are thousands of them that the Israeli air force has been dropping over Gaza. They say the Israeli Defense Force will escalate the operation in the Gaza Strip. The IDF is not working against the people of Gaza, but against Hamas and the terrorists. And they warn people in Gaza, stay safe by following our orders.
Now the question is, what does an escalation mean? And here the speculation is that an escalation could mean that Israel is moving into the third phase of its operation in Gaza, the first phase having been the air war which lasted for a week. The second phase was the initial ground invasion which has lasted for the past week. But Israel's political and military leaders have been talking about a phase three whereby they put many more ground troops into Gaza, thousands more. And they push more deeply into the population centers like Gaza City and other densely populated areas of Gaza which inevitably will bring much more fighting and many more casualties on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side.
ROBERTS: Meanwhile, for the last couple of days, Israel has created this three-hour window - a lull in the fighting to let humanitarian aid get through. Is anything getting into Gaza?
SHUSTER: Well, not much is coming from outside Gaza into Gaza because these three-hour lulls are not working. A couple of days ago, there was an attack on one of the aid convoys, and one of the truck drivers for the U.N. was killed. And the main relief group from the U.N. has decided not to send additional stuff in until all of that is worked out. The three hours do give aid workers inside Gaza an opportunity to distribute some of the stuff that's in warehouses inside Gaza. But both sides continued the war during the lull today, both the Israelis and Hamas.
ROBERTS: And what's the latest on the Egyptian cease-fire effort?
SHUSTER: Well, there's a lot going on in Egypt, but it's not clear that it's really moving or progressing. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. Hamas sent a delegation to Cairo. Turkey is also there. The Turkish government is trying to mediate. The real hard issue is what to do about the Egyptian-Gaza border. Israel wants it sealed before it agrees to a cease-fire. Hamas won't allow that. There's talk of an international force either in Gaza or in Egypt. Neither side wants that. So, these talks in Egypt aren't making much progress.
ROBERTS: NPR's Mike Shuster in Jerusalem. Thanks, Mike.
SHUSTER: You're welcome.