Israel’s ‘strongest supporter’ is already wavering. Doubts about the wisdom of continuing Operation Protective Edge are being expressed from the White House as soon as the IDF struck a decisive blow in a Gaza neighborhood where Hamas terrorists stored some of their most deadly missiles. The ordnance was, of course, stashed under civilian buildings — a mosque, a hospital, a children’s playround, and more.

For three days the IDF dropped flyers, called homes and sent SMS text messages warning residents to leave the area so they would not be harmed when the attack began. Hamas pressured its people not to. Some had the sense to flee the area, and others chose to remain as human shields. The brutal, bloody firefight in Seijaiya cost a lot of lives on both sides and panicked leaders around the world — including officials in the White House.

In his second call to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu since Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed “serious concern about the growing number of casualties” in Gaza.

Israel’s prime minister was also notified during the call that Obama was sending Secretary of State John Kerry back to the region. Kerry was boarding a plane to head for Cairo, where he would pressure Israel and Hamas to negotiate another cease fire.

According to a statement issued by the White House, the move was aimed at helping ‘protect civilians in both Gaza and Israel.’ United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, has called on Israel to “exercise maximum restraint and do far more to protect civilians” without specifying exactly how the IDF should accomplish that task. He also called on Hamas to end its rocket fire from Gaza.

The IDF drops flyers warning civilians in every target neighborhood prior to an attack, calls homes and sends SMS text messages asking residents to leave the area hours and sometimes days before carrying out operations – all of which puts its own forces in danger and of course alerts the enemy to its plans. Not one armed force of any other nation in the world does the same.

Israel’s Channel 10 News cites a report from the opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad that the Syrian army has launched a surface-to-surface missile in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing more than 100.

The reliability of the report not yet clear, according to Channel 10, and it is not known what type of chemical was used.

According to the report, the Syrian army is bombing the towns of Tamara and Zamalka, on the outskirts of Damascus. The rebels are reporting dozens of injuries. It was also reported that the army has shot down a rebel helicopter.

Several Arab news channel have carried this report. The alleged attack took place while a UN mission with some 20 inspectors is in Damascus to investigate earlier reports of chemical weapons use.

The inspectors are expecting to visit three sites, most notably Khan al-Assal near Aleppo. According to the UN, 13 reports of chemical weapon attacks have been received to date – not including today’s report.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the investigators intend to collect samples, conduct interviews with witnesses, victims, and attending medical personnel, and conduct autopsies.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the Syrian army has attacked rebel positions in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Tuesday, countering a rebel advance that threatened to take the whole city. Deir al-Zor, on the banks of the Euphrates, 270 miles northeast of Damascus, is the capital of an oil-rich region bordering Iraq.