Residents with loved ones in the Middle East are taking to the Internet for updates on friends and relatives amid the unrest there.

It has been more than two weeks since the start of the latest fighting in the Middle East. Casualties are rising on both sides. More than 600 Palestinians and at least 29 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Shaina Loksen was in Israel only a few months ago visiting family in a small, peaceful town near the Tel Aviv airport. In the past few weeks, the town has become a war zone.

"At any given moment, they have 15 seconds to go to their bomb shelter with kids, little children, adults, elderly people," she says.

Loksen has set up a command center of sorts, including streaming Israeli news and getting live updates on Facebook from her family.

A similar routine has also been put into effect by residents who stand with those on the other side of the conflict.

Ammar Awawdeh has parents from the West Bank, and has family and friends in Gaza.

He has been using Facebook to see if everyone is OK. However, he says it's been harder to stay in touch since the conflict began.

He says there is no W-iFi, and his friends and family are afraid to leave their homes to go to an Internet café.