How significant is Kerry's Gaza visit?

John Kerry (now the Senate Foreign Relations chair) went to Gaza on Thursday, and even toured the ruins of a school that Israel had attacked. (Reps Keith Ellison and Brian Baird went to Gaza as well, on a separate trip).

I think Kerry's visit is fairly significant. AP's Ibrahim Barzak reports:

Visits by U.S. officials to Gaza have been rare since Palestinian militants blew up an American diplomatic convoy in 2003, killing three people.

Before Thursday, no American officials had come to Gaza since Hamas won Palestinian elections in June 2006. The group violently seized control of Gaza the following year after a brief civil war.

Anyhow, it gave me a bit of hope.