Cesspit

On Tuesday night, at around 1.30am, a massive explosion from an airstrike shook our building, causing the metal shutters on my windows to stretch and shattering the windows on some higher floors.

The airstrike had targeted this open plot of land, leaving a crater 20 feet wide. The explosion knocked down part of an adjacent wall and burst a sewage pipe. The shockwaves also blew out many windows in the surrounding buildings, including in the Beach/Orient Hotel across the road, where many international journalists were staying.

We got word of the ceasefire at around 8.30pm last night, but we were sceptical until we saw the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr stand up beside US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to announce the deal.

We gradually allowed ourselves to hope that it was real. 9pm passed and we heard a few more rockets and airstrikes but, little by little, the ceasefire seemed to take hold and the neighbourhood began to come slowly back to life.

Soon, we were listening to the sounds of fireworks, car horns, ululating, and the traditional celebratory gunfire. We couldn't resist going out to join the party so we met some friends, piled into their car, and drove around the crowded streets, enjoying the sheer joy we were witnessing.

There were flags of every faction being waved proudly alongside the Palestinian flag. To everyone we passed, we cried, 'Ilhamdullah salaama!', and exchanged the sign of V for victory.

Indeed, if the terms of the agreement come to pass, the buffer zone is removed, the closure is lifted, and serious negotiations for a free Palestine begin to take place, for the people of Palestine, it will have been a victory indeed.