Today I burst into tears while reading Ziad's diary on the Guardian website. At first I was relieved; I had been so worried when I didn't see a new entry last night. Then I cried, because the latest entry was about a cat he encounters in the street, recently blinded in one eye yet so friendly; obviously a family pet–abandoned? home destroyed? family obliterated? He and his sister adopt her, despite all the impediments to caring for animals (let alone one's self) during a siege, and he comes to think of Manara as a beacon of hope, their "lighthouse".

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A few hours ago, it was observed that Israel had cut off all internet and communications in Gaza, for what some believe will be an "unprecedented" assault. Will I read another diary entry by Ziad tomorrow? Will Ziad live another day?

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"You standing at the doorsteps, enter
and drink Arabic coffee with us
(you might sense you're human like us)
you standing at the doorsteps,
get out of our mornings,
we need reassurance that we
are human like you!"

—Mahmoud Darwish, from State of Siege (2002)

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