Khaled Meshaal: fighting talk as Gaza greets exiled leader second in 1997, when the attempt by the crazed [Benjamin] Netanyahu tried to assassinate me, and this one on the 7th of December 2012. The 56-year-old hoped to go one better and experience a fourth. "The liberation of Palestine, in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Haifa and Jaffa," he said. In keeping with his militant language he said: "I hope God will make me a martyr on the land of Palestine in Gaza." Thousands took to the streets in joy for the second time in just over a fortnight - having earlier publicly celebrated the truce that ended last month's eight-day conflict with Israel that left some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis dead but which Hamas hailed as a victory. As Mr Meshaal's motorcade made its way from his entry point at Rafah along the coastal strip's rutted roads to Gaza City, horns and sirens blaring, he was given the biggest welcome the territory has accorded to any political figure since the late Yasser Arafat's return from exile in 1994. Green Hamas flags flew everywhere to mark the visit, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Islamist movement's founding. Children wore Hamas bandannas and women of all ages in Islamic head dress waited by the road side or watched from balconies for a glimpse. But this was more than mere celebration. The huge numbers of Hamas masked fighters lining the streets armed with Kalashnikovs and shoulder-held RPGs attested to an impressive - and intimidating - show of strength by a militant organisation that took over Gaza by force in 2007 and brooks little dissent. The militant nature of the event became clearer inside the city, as Hamas road blocks were put up ostensibly to seal off traffic from places Mr Meshaal's convoy was visiting but in reality, it appeared, to showcase the organisation's iron grip over the territory. Angry songs invoking the recent conflict with Israel filled the air. "Hit, hit Tel Aviv," one blared out. The Israelis can destroy Gaza but we will rebuild it brick-by-brick. We must hit Tel Aviv. Mr Meshaal first visited the home of the late Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, assassinated by Israel in 2004. Then, in perhaps his most poignant assignment, he paid homage to Ahmed al-Jaabari, the former Hamas military commander whose assassination by Israel last month presaged its aerial bombardment of the territory. As Mr Meshaal entered the crowded courtyard of the Jabaari family home in the impoverish neighbourhood of Shujaya, he was mobbed by bearded Hamas followers and seemed in danger of having his fingers wrenched from him as he a gave victory sign. He praised the dead commander as an "honest and decent man." Then, in an olive branch to Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority and the secular Fatah group, he declared it was time for the Palestinians' divided factions to reunite. "This victory has united us," he said. As we united in battle and we will unite in politics. The call for unity also carried a message that the struggle against Israel - whose right to exist Hamas still refuses to recognise - must continue. "Politics without resistance has no meaning," he said. Mr Abbas has all but dropped the option of armed struggle with Israel by disarming militant groups in the West Bank. And despite the relief - however temporary - brought by last month's ceasefire, Mr Meshaal alluded to conflicts ahead when he urged Gazans to "keep your finger on the trigger." It was fighting talk locals seemed happy to hear. "Khaled Meshaal's visit is like a symbol of victory for us," said Ramadan Walid Ghattas, 28, a Shujaya resident. His visit is historic and shows the resistance has been empowered. If Israel was concerned by the visit it was not showing it. The skies above Gaza, menaced last month by hi-tech Israeli bombers, seemed reassuringly clear. A foreign ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, said the event disproved criticisms that Israel is keeping Gaza under siege. This visit by Meshaal, which follows that of the Qatari emir and the Egyptian prime minister and other officials, proves there is no Israeli blockade on Gaza," he said.