The fighting between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian militant groups, now in its 15th day, is so severe that it is visible from space. A German astronaut on the International Space Station named Alexander Gerst, who has been posting photos on his Twitter account, posted this on Wednesday, in which he says the explosions of Israeli air strikes and Palestinian rockets are visible:
The photo is oriented such that north is to the right and south to the left; that dark area at the top is the Mediterranean Sea and the brightest spot, on the coast, is Tel Aviv. To the left of Tel Aviv, just 44 miles to the south, is Gaza City, the largest city in Gaza and the location of a lot of the worst fighting.
Gerst posted the photo at 8:47 p.m. Gaza time.
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