At 2.30am on Monday, silence fell. Unexpectedly, it reigned, in contrast to the preceding 48 hours when air-raid sirens had howled in all cities across southern Israel, followed by the dull explosions of Palestinian missiles. The air over the Gaza Strip had oscillated with the hum of countless Israeli reconnaissance drones, the hiss of fighter jets and the roar of bombs.

All this was joined on Sunday by the deep bass of hundreds of tanks ordered by Israel's government to take up positions around Gaza.