Israeli air strikes overnight brought the offensive on Gaza into its third week and the total death toll on both sides heading rapidly towards 600.<br/> <br />By Tuesday morning at least 550 Palestinians had lost their lives since the conflict began.<br/> <br />Most of them were civilians and nearly 100 of them children, according to Palestinian health officials.<br/> <br />Israel's dead stood at 29 including two civilians killed by Palestinian rocket fire.<br/> <br />U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is continuing his diplomatic push for a ceasefire in Egypt.<br/> <br />On Tuesday he held talks with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY, SAYING:<br/> <br />"I look forward to a good conversation to talk about how we can build on it and hopefully find, not only a way to a ceasefire, but a way to deal with the underlying issues which are very complicated, so I'm very grateful to my friend for his efforts."<br/> <br />In Tel Aviv, rival demonstrations by Isra
