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STORY: Efforts led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to achieve a breakthrough in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Tuesday showed little movement and the explosion of violence appeared to dash wider international hopes of turning a brief lull for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival into a longer-term ceasefire.
Kerry, continued to show signs of optimism telling reporters that during his frequent calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader raised the "idea and a possibility of a ceasefire."
Kerry fought back against criticism regarding his efforts to achieve a cease-fire saying,"I've taken hits before in politics. I'm not worried about that. This is not about me. This is about Israel, and Israel's right to defend itself and our strong support for Israel's right to defend itself."
Meanwhile, Israel knocked out Gaza's only power plant on Tuesday, flattened the home of its Islamist Hamas politi
