When on October 10, a “ceasefire” was declared in Gaza, many Palestinians breathed a sigh of relief. They had just endured two years of constant bombardment estimated to equal roughly six times the explosive force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, concentrated on an area less than half the size of the Japanese city..

The devastation was all encompassing. All hospitals and universities had been bombed, most homes and schools destroyed and vital infrastructure, such as the sewage system and electricity lines, had been damaged beyond repair. An estimated 50 million tonnes of rubble was strewn across the strip and under it lay at least 10,000 bodies of Palestinians killed in bombardments who were yet to be recovered.

And yet, the respite the people of Gaza expected to finall

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