NEWSFLASH: Under Fire - Bombs, Rockets In Gaza Moments Ago

Three Gazans - this evening before the bombing started
"I sat down and continued working. For a minute. The whooshing and whining was distracting – who was being targeted? Was it my friend who had just caught a car in the direction the heaviest fire seemed to be coming from? Another text…..no, he’s okay too. The kids I took photos of on the beach tonight? Did they make it home okay?"

Gaza City: 19 June 2011 - As I worked on an article about an hour (12.05am Gaza City time) ago a huge BANG shook the city. I messaged a friend “Was that a bomb” and he replied, “yes, a strong one.” The air was filled with a humming noise interspersed with whooshes…my heart was fluttering and all I could think was whether I should turn the light off…can drones see in the dark? Who would they be firing at? I looked out the window – the security guy across the road ambled out of his hut, looked across, hitched his automatic and went back inside. Okay, I thought, he’s cool, it must be okay.

I sat down and continued working. For a minute. The whooshing and whining was distracting – who was being targeted? Was it my friend who had just caught a car in the direction the heaviest fire seemed to be coming from? Another text…..no, he’s okay too. The kids I took photos of on the beach tonight? Did they make it home okay? The camel? The boy doing acrobatics?

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Children swimming In Gaza today

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A camel on the beach.

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Surf lifesaving vessel - Gaza style

One of my friends told me this evening that someone in Gaza camp fired a rocket into an Israeli house yesterday by accident. Maybe this is payback. How can one rocket justify an hour of bombs and rockets and drone attacks on numerous targets?

Every time I think it is over, and start to breathe a little easier, there is another whirr, another whoosh. A truck load of Hamas security just checked in across the road with the security guard, lights flashing. They left almost immediately. I waved goodbye but I don’t think they noticed, they have bigger things to worry about. The whooshing is still whooshing. You can almost pretend you are just standing beneath a motorway….I think I will still be here in the morning, but I don’t know what else will be…

UPDATE: The bombing ended at around 3am, then before dawn morning prayers began. The following video shows a view of Gaza City at dawn with the prayers underway.

Julie Webb-Pullman (click to view previous articles) is a New Zealand based freelance writer who has reported for Scoop since 2003. She recently managed to get into Gaza during a brief period when the Rafah Gate was open.

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