US President Obama faces the difficult task of sticking up for its ally in the face of condemnation from even its main partners on the Iran issue — including Britain — at a time when outreach to the Islamic world is one of its key foreign policy initiatives. The White House, has reacted cautiously to the raid, calling for the disclosure of the full facts, and has so far only expressed "regret" at the loss of life aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, stopping short of condemning the assault. That precarious balance was also seen in remarks from State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley to reporters Monday: “We support expanding the flow of goods to the people of Gaza. But this must be done in a spirit of cooperation, not confrontation.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the streets of Washington and New York on Monday to protest Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound humanitarian convoy. In Washington, protesters demonstrated first in front of the Israeli Embassy, and then before the White House to express their outrage at the US government's relentless support of Tel Aviv. Amid shouts of "No more nickels, no more dimes, no more funding Israel's crimes," the demonstrators called for an end to the years-long Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. They also urged the Obama's administration to expel the Israeli ambassador to Washington.

Anti-Israeli demonstrations were also held in New York on Monday afternoon, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli consulate. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanting "End the siege in Gaza now" and "Stop Israeli piracy!" Dozens of traditionally dressed orthodox Jews were among the demonstrators carrying signs reading "Judaism condemns Zionist atrocities in Gaza."

“The fallout from the raid will likely increase pressure to reconfigure the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza (there may be a push for more international involvement or for allowing more goods into the area), create a crisis in Israeli–Turkish relations, force the United Nations Security Council to react, and move European governments to insist that the issue of Gaza be addressed sooner rather than later,” said Nathan J. Brown, Nonresident Senior Associate, Carnegie Middle East Program.

“While the international community will line up against it, Israel is unlikely to face any concrete consequences, such as sanctions, for the raid. But, (the attack) will hurt Israel's relations with many actors in the international community and complicate diplomacy for the next several months,” added Brown.

Adam Shapiro is on the board of the Free Gaza Movement. He said on Tuesday: "CNN is looping footage of mayhem on one of the ships, but is not giving the context that the Israelis had killed someone already at that point. The ship was in international waters, there was no plausible rationale to take it over by the Israelis. The ships were not going to Israel, they were going to Gaza, they had no plans to enter Israeli waters. All this could have been avoided if Israel had let the ships deliver their aid to Gaza."

Marina Ottaway, Director, Carnegie Middle East Program, noted that “In the immediate future, the Israeli decision to stop the flotilla of boats coming into Gaza puts the United States in an extremely difficult position.

“Obama must decide whether to sacrifice his credibility in the region in order to continue a well-established US tradition of mild rebukes toward Israel, or break with ‘business-as-usual’ policies and condemn the Israeli action.”

Richard Falk is professor of international law emeritus, Princeton University and Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories for the UN Human Rights Council. He told reporters Tuesday: "The Israeli naval and helicopter lethal attack on the Freedom Flotilla bringing needed humanitarian relief to the civilian population of Gaza is a shocking crime against humanity.

“Israel’s use of force was grossly disproportionate and excessive given the circumstances, and should be investigated and those responsible held criminally accountable. This incident should serve as a wake-up call for a complicit international community.”

"I have to be frank, I am not very happy with this statement from Washington yesterday. We expect a clear condemnation."