Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil made a historic visit to the Gaza Strip Friday, November 16 amid the biggest flare-up of violence in years between Israel and Hamas, The Wall Street Journal reported. Qandil arrived in Gaza on Friday morning to demonstrate his new government’s clear policy break from Egypt’s ousted regime. In a news conference there, Qandil and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh struck a defiant note, blasting Israeli aggression and declaring a new unified front against Israel. “We are all behind you, the struggling nation, the heroic that is presenting its children as heroes every day,” Qandil said. Even as the two leaders spoke, Israel-bound rockets fired by Hamas could be heard taking off in the background. Though Israel had pledged to cease firing during Qandil’s three-hour visit, Hamas continued to batter southern Israel.