REUTERS/Fadi Arouri

Israel today continued ground operations launched against Hamas on Saturday, moving to divide the Gaza Strip in three and seizing a number of open areas from which rockets have been fired, as the Palestinian death toll surpassed 500. Israeli troops have not yet invaded densely populated urban areas and refugee camps, where the real fighting will take place. However, such an escalation is almost certain given continuing Hamas rocket fire and the determination of each side to teach the other a lesson. When the serious fighting begins, and particularly if Hamas is able to exact a price for Israeli advances, Western allies in the Middle East will find themselves shaken by popular anger. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is likely to be the first to suffer; other Arab leaders and governments will steer a cautious course, employing a mixture of appeasement and repression against their publics.