Rockets near Jerusalem and Petraeus on the Hill

The world and Washington brace for a ground attack in Israel as Hamas rockets fire on Jerusalem and Israel showers air assaults on the Gaza Strip. On Capitol Hill, former CIA director David Petraeus testifies that the White House knew the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was a terror attack by an al Qaeda-linked group. President Obama and congressional leaders initiate talks about on how to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. GOP governors meet, and distance themselves from former Governor Mitt Romney. China's Communist Party completes its second orderly handover of power in more than six decades of rule.

Banner image: Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip November 16, 2012. Photo by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters