Gaza calm as Israeli troops begin pullout
GAZA CITY: Gaza enjoyed a second night of calm on Monday as Israeli
troops began withdrawing after their deadly 22-day onslaught in the
battered territory was halted by a fragile ceasefire deal.
As the Hamas movement and other militant groups also announced a
week-long truce of their own, the guns on both sides fell silent giving
Gaza’s traumatised population a second night of relative peace.
“Everything is calm, there have been no reports of any activity
throughout the night,” an Israeli army spokesman said shortly after
dawn. Palestinian security sources also had nothing to report for the
first time in over three weeks.
Israel has said it wants to leave Gaza as quickly as possible after
its deadliest-ever offensive there which reduced much of the enclave to
ruins — a devastating war in which Hamas leader Ismail Haniya claimed a
“great victory”.
“God has granted us a great victory, not for one faction, or party,
or area, but for our entire people,” said Haniya, Hamas’ prime minister,
in a televised address.
“We have stopped the aggression and the enemy has failed to achieve
any of its goals,” he added.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed Israel’s ceasefire but said
it was “only a first step” and must go further.
“We should immediately convene a major international conference which
would allow us to establish peace this year,” Sarkozy said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Israel to reopen the
crossings to long-blockaded Gaza, saying a sustainable ceasefire would
require “humanitarian access” to the territory.
Israel’s decision to call a unilateral ceasefire in its war on Hamas
came about after it won pledges from Washington and Cairo to help
prevent arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip — a task in which Europe has
also pledged to help.
Top leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Czech
Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency, attended a dinner in
Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late on Sunday after
earlier participating in a summit in Egypt aimed at shoring up the
truce.
A senior Israeli official said Olmert had thanked them for their
support for Israel’s concerns and had urged them to make good on pledges
to halt the flow of arms into Gaza.
“He urged them to follow through their commitments on smuggling and
efforts to stop the rearmament of Hamas,” the official said. Egypt held
separate talks with Hamas, and President Hosni Mubarak announced plans
to host an international aid conference to help rebuild Gaza.
Cairo has also invited Israeli and Palestinian officials for separate
meetings on Thursday to discuss an Egyptian initiative for an extended
truce, state news agency MENA reported.
It was not immediately clear whether the invitation had been accepted
to the talks which are aimed at “taking the necessary steps to stabilise
the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip” and ending the siege of Gaza, a foreign
ministry official told MENA.
After exchanges of gunfire and an air strike punctured what Olmert
acknowledged was a “fragile” unilateral ceasefire, Gaza militant groups
announced a one-week truce of their own.
“(We) demand that enemy forces withdraw in a week and open all the
border crossings to permit the entry of humanitarian aid and basic
goods,” Mussa Abu Marzuk, deputy leader of Hamas’s politburo, said in
Damascus.
The military confirmed troop withdrawals had begun after witnesses in
Gaza City saw troops pulling back towards the border fence. Olmert on
Saturday ordered an end to the Gaza offensive but warned troops would
return fire if attacked.
After the ceasefire came into effect at 2:00 am (0000 GMT), Gaza
enjoyed its first bomb-free night in more than three weeks, although
militants launched around 18 rockets into Israel and on Sunday, Israel
hit back with an airstrike.
Medics took advantage of the ceasefire to comb areas which had been
inaccessible, pulling at least 95 bodies from the rubble, including
those of several children.
The discoveries brought the overall death toll since Israel launched
Operation Cast Lead on December 27 to more than 1,300, medics said.
On the ground, residents cautiously ventured out onto the streets.
“Everything has been completely destroyed,” said Yahia Karin, 54, in
Zeitun, a Gaza City neighbourhood ravaged by furious battles between
Israeli ground troops and Hamas militants.
Wednesday, AFP |