Gaza residents headed for Friday prayers and Israeli naval guns were largely silent as grief and shock began to mix with a palpable sense of relief in the coastal strip pounded by weeks of Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults, ap reported. Gazans filled mosques without fear of Israeli strikes for the first time since Israel launched a devastating offensive in the coastal territory in late December. The booming of Israeli naval guns was mostly absent following weeks of non-stop gunfire along Gaza's coast. Near two destroyed Gaza City mosques on Friday, men spread carpets on sandy ground to prepare for open-air Friday prayers. In the main market of the Jebaliya refugee camp, large crowds shopped ahead of prayers and restaurants fired up huge vats with meat, cooking on wood fires because of a shortage of gas. Fruit merchants boasted shipments of apples and bananas from Israel. One owner said it was the first time in five months he'd been able to sell fresh apples. A three-week Israeli offensive that ended last Sunday killed 1,285 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
