bombardment

Most crucially, under bombardment the power cells buy engineers time to restore service and prevent a blackout.

After losing control of more than half the country, the army is now making significant gains again, through an especially bloody campaign of airstrikes and heavy bombardment.

From there, the boom of Israelis air strikes and artillery could be heard just a few kilometres away in Gaza, where witnesses said the intense Israeli bombardment continued.

Israeli bombardment continued in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Monday ahead of the talks beginning.

"You can't release hostages while there's still bombardments going on... that has to stop, but you also have to work through the other logistics," he told CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday.