Israel's massive blitzkrieg of the Gaza strip, which has killed nearly 330 Palestinians so far and injured more than 1,000, continued Monday with no end in sight.

The carnage inflicted by "Operation Cast Lead"—ostensibly in retaliation for the death of one Israeli in rocket attacks by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)—is the largest Israeli action in Gaza since 1967. It has raised political tensions across the Middle East and pushed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the forefront of the foreign policy challenges facing the incoming U.S. administration of Barack Obama, which is already saddled with a global economic crisis, unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a looming nuclear threat from Iran.