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World/Nation

| July 29, 2014 9:00 PM

• Netanyahu: A 'prolonged' Gaza war lies ahead

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Signaling an escalation of Israel's Gaza operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis Monday to be ready for a "prolonged" war, and the military warned Palestinians in three large neighborhoods to leave their homes and head immediately for Gaza City.

In central Gaza City early Tuesday, at least two major explosions hit a media complex housing the offices of Hamas-run Al Aqsa television and radio. The blasts shook surrounding buildings and started a fire on the roof of the office block, one of Gaza's tallest.

AP video showed a massive flash as the first strike hit the top of the building, sending debris raining down. The building also houses offices of a number of Arab satellite television news channels.

A loud explosion was also heard within the Abu Khadra government complex in Gaza City.

The strikes came during a heavy night of bombardment, with Israeli illumination flares and repeated explosions lighting up the Gaza skyline and turning it orange.

• Hamas and Israel blame each other for kids' deaths

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas and Israel blamed each other for an explosion at a Gaza park Monday that killed at least 10 Palestinians - including nine children who were playing - in a horrific scene that underscored the heavy price civilians are paying in the conflict.

Israel's military said a rocket misfired by Gaza militants was responsible, and it later released aerial photos that it said showed the weapon's path. Gaza officials blamed Israeli airstrikes.

The blast took place on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Afterward, dozens of Palestinians crowded the spot at the park in the Shati refugee camp northwest of Gaza City, where pools of blood could be seen on the ground. Some cried out, pleading for God's mercy.

Witnesses said the youngsters had been playing on a swing set.

• Pesky flooding on U.S. coasts rising with sea levels

WASHINGTON - Along much of America's coasts, the type of flooding that is more annoying than dangerous has jumped more than fivefold in the last 50 years, the federal government reported Monday.

Scientists blame rising seas, saying this is one of the ways global warming is changing everyday lives.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studied coastal trends in what it calls nuisance flooding, where no one is hurt but people have to deal with flooded roads and buildings.

While scientists and the public spend a lot of time dealing with giant events, such as a hurricane, it is minor floods that people feel more often, though not as severely, said NOAA's Margaret Davidson.

"It's the stuff that keeps you from conducting your business or picking up your kids from school," Davidson said. "It is clear that changing climate and weather patterns will cause us to be increasingly inconvenienced and challenged in our everyday lives."

• Ebola case shows weaknesses in stopping disease

DAKAR, Senegal - No one knows for sure just how many people Patrick Sawyer came into contact with the day he boarded a flight in Liberia, had a stopover in Ghana, changed planes in Togo, and then arrived in Nigeria, where authorities say he died days later from Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.

Now health workers are scrambling to trace those who may have been exposed to Sawyer across West Africa, including flight attendants and fellow passengers.

Health experts say it is unlikely he could have infected others with the virus that can cause victims to bleed from the eyes, mouth and ears. Still, unsettling questions remain: How could a man whose sister recently died from Ebola manage to board a plane leaving the country? And worse: Could Ebola become the latest disease to be spread by international air travel?

Sawyer's death on Friday has led to tighter screening of airline passengers in West Africa, where an unprecedented outbreak that emerged in March has killed more than 670 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. But some health authorities expressed little confidence in such precautions.

• Sexual-assault suspect killed in wild shootout

NEW YORK - A California man who skipped town after being accused of molesting a boy was killed and three law enforcement officers trying to arrest him were wounded in a daytime shootout inside a small smoke shop in one of New York's most bustling neighborhoods, officials said Monday.

The man, Charles Richard Mozdir, was recently featured on a CNN show about fugitives. He was wanted in a San Diego case and was charged with lewd acts upon a child younger than 14, a criminal complaint said.

The shootout between Mozdir and members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force happened just after 1 p.m. in Greenwich Village not far from New York University in a highly trafficked tourist area bounded by jazz clubs, restaurants, a subway station and a basketball court.

Mozdir's handgun was recovered at the scene, and 20 extra rounds of ammunition were found in his pocket, Police Commissioner William Bratton said.

- The Associated Press