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.