There was a pit in my stomach from the start of that day. We wanted to go to Khan Younis refugee camp, where more than 100 Palestinians had been injured in two nights of fighting. And nothing you do in Gaza is very safe. Khan Younis today is like the Wild West - it's a nasty, dirty series of concrete alleyways, where the sickening pitter patter of Kalashnikov fire and the occassional snaps of M16s break the air around you all day, and all night. And getting there means running the gauntlet of Israeli soldiers, as those who live in Gaza do every day.
Israeli soldiers are in parts of Gaza to protect the Jewish settlements.
A few months ago their checkpoints were what you'd expect - a barrier, some soldiers, an ID check and a wave on. But not any more. Our driver stopped without apparent reason near where a checkpoint used to be. He was used to Gaza's new traffic regulations. Barriers A soldier in a tank fired a bullet in the air - that meant stop.