By Ming Jing

The eyes of the world are on the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Days into 2009, the ground invasion by Israel on the Gaza Strip following more than a week of air raids on the coastal enclave inflamed the conflicts and dragged the region into a deeper quagmire.

The death toll of Palestinians is more than 600, with at least a quarter of them civilians – by far the bloodiest episode in the decades-old conflicts between Israel and Palestinians.

Aid groups have warned of a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where water, food and medical supplies were running short.

Tuesday's carnage by Israeli shells of 42 people, including women and children sheltering in a United Nations-run school in the Jabalya refugee camp, intensified international outrage and pressure on Israel to call a halt.

Israel defended the attacks as a response to Hamas' decision to end a six-month ceasefire on Dec 19 and launch rockets into southern Israel. During that time, Hamas built up and improved its arsenal of weapons; its mortars and rockets are now capable of reaching territory that is inhabited by more than 700,000 Israelis, according to Yin Gang, a researcher in Middle East affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The Bush administration has supported Israel, saying Hamas had to halt rocket fire at Israel for a truce to take shape.

Hamas stepped up its rocket attacks to escalate its confrontation with Israel, censuring the blockade on Gaza imposed by Israel in the wake of Hamas' takeover of the territory 18 months ago. And, as Hamas is the governing authority in Gaza, the hardships were taking a toll on its reputation, which was Israel's intention.

"Israel's campaign in Gaza against Hamas may succeed militarily," said Hua Liming, former Chinese ambassador to Iran. "But it could also backfire. Either way, the political consequences could reverberate throughout the Middle East, and test the ability of US president-elect Barack Obama and his team to prepare for whatever faces them in this immediate crisis."

With its ground incursion into Gaza, Israel has gambled that it can finally silence the Hamas rockets.

Experts stressed there is indication that the Israeli government has war aims that go beyond inflicting serious damage to the Hamas military machine.

Facing a parliamentary election in a month, Israeli leaders want to show the public the campaign in Gaza has met that objective.