Could this be the end?

As I write, the Cabinet is deciding whether to approve a unilateral cease-fire, which, if observed, should lead to a pull out of our forces some days later. I heard at some stage of the day ( I think it was a quote from someone in the Home Command) that we residents of the south should be prepared for a busy night, as he reckoned that if the end really is in sight, Hamas will 'give us all they've got' and do all they can to achieve some kind of 'glorious victory'. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Watch this space tomorrow (if it's still here!) or read the newspapers...

We had one alert today, and, believe it or not, for the first time we all got to the shelter in a normal fashion. How can I describe what you feel? Believe me, I'm an amateur - the people in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva can describe the feeling much better. To be honest, you know that you only have 45 seconds to get to the shelter, so by the time you've heard the alarm, checked that it is a genuine alarm and not coming from the TV, radio or computer, made sure that everyone else knows there's an alert and rush to the shelter, you're basically left with about only ten seconds for any feelings which you might have. You look at each other and listen very hard, but there's not really time to go through any range of feelings - I'd say numbness, or just a feeling of "let's get this over with" is closest to reality. The biggest guess is after you hear the boom when to leave the shelter. Can you assume that there's only been one rocket? What if there are more coming in short succession afterwards? The Home Command (so I discovered today, at least) recommends waiting for five more minutes. We're usually out after about half a minute...

There's still a lot more to say, but I'm waiting until this is all over. I want to see how things develop. If we stop now and our towns in the south can resume normal life, this will obviously be the best option, since I don't want our soldiers to spend one day more than they have to in Gaza. Unfortunately, my feeling is that Hamas won't be happy until they pay us back. A unilateral cease-fire is just that - unilateral. Any rational fighting force would welcome this chance for peace, but 'rational' doesn't really come to mind when I think of adjectives I can use to describe the Hamas.

Does anyone have anything to add? I know it's not easy to add comments on this blog for some reason, but if you persist it will eventually work. What is happening outside Israel? Has the doctor whose house was bombed been given much publicity?