Tim McGirk in an article from Jerusalem states the following:

"The assault on Gaza, no matter how it ends, will not ease the Jewish state's existential anxiety.  Peace, not war is its only hope."

Rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel continued as day after day of this war went on.  Eventually, the troops from Israel surrounded Gaza.  Tim McGirk asked the burning question in his article:

"How far must they advance into the deadly labyrinth of slums and refugee camps, where Hamas militants await with booby trapped houses and snipers?  With each passing day, Israel's war against Hamas grows riskier and more punishing, with the gains appearing to diminish compared to the spiraling costs -- to Israel's moral stature, to the lives of Palestinian civilians and to the world's hope that an ancient conflict can ever be resolved."