For the first time since 2008, Gaza seems to be on the brink of invasion. Israeli tanks, soldiers, and weapons line the western border, and the use of 75,000 reservists has been authorized. As of this writing, about half that number has actually been mobilized.

 This conflagration began less than a week ago when an Israeli strike assassinated a top Hamas official while he was inside his car. Islamic militants launched missiles in retaliation, which led to even further retribution from Israeli forces. According to Reuters, 1,000 rockets have been fired and 1,350 air strikes have been conducted in the past six days.

The Health Ministry headed by Hamas reports the Palestinian death toll at 101 people, 24 of whom were children. Further deaths pushed the overall count to 106, the majority being civilians. Three Israeli civilians were killed by a rocket strike on Thursday.

President Obama spoke to Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, urging him to use his influence over Hamas to aid in brokering a cease-fire. Ban Ki-moon also met with Egyptian officials to prepare for talks with Mursi on Tuesday. Evidently, Egypt will play a large role in whatever attempt is made at creating peace.

Historically, it is incredibly difficult to relieve tensions between entities as ideologically disparate as Hamas and Israel. Many within the Gaza Strip refuse to recognize Israel as a legal state, while many within Israel see the Western Bank as rightfully theirs. However this particular situation may play out, it is obvious there will be no simple solution.