After a week of aerial assaults against Hamas-ruled Gaza, Israel sent in ground troops in an effort to end Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

More than 400 Gazans have been killed and some 1,700 have been wounded in the Israeli campaign, Gaza health officials have told news agencies. The number of combatants and civilians killed is unclear.

Three Israeli citizens and one soldier have died from rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel and another four died from "friendly-fire".

Despite mounting international calls for a cease fire, the ground war continues and intensifies. In this video, two experts debate the Gaza conflict and where it might lead: Matthew Levitt, director of counterterrorism at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Mark Perry, co-director of the Conflicts Forum.

"My feeling is that this will not be a long operation. I don't think the Israelis want it to be a long operation. But they clearly feel the need to do what has to be done to prevent Hamas from firing rockets at their civilian population centers." -- Matthew Levitt, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

"Well, there's no question in my mind that Israel wants to end the rocket fire, and they will -- and they will do that. But how do you do it? Do you do it with a ground operation like the kind they've launched? No, you're going to have to have international monitors or some kind of guarantees in there." –Mark Perry, The Conflicts Forum

1. Where is Israel? Look at a map, what countries border it?

2. Why is the Middle East important?

1. The experts disagree about who started this conflict, why do you think so many people disagree about this and why?

2. Israel states that it needed to invade Gaza for the security of its civilians, do you agree? Why or why not?

3. Hamas is a democratically elected government and it is also listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe, how does that complicate the issue for you?

4. Do you think U.S. policy towards the Middle East will change when Barack Obama becomes president? Why or why not?