- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli ground troops leave Gaza after Israel declares ceasefire
- Date: 18th January 2009
- Summary: ISRAEL- GAZA BORDER AREA, ISRAEL (JANUARY 18, 2009) (REUTERS) RAINBOW OVER GAZA VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER FIRING FLARES OVER GAZA SMOKE RISING FROM TANK ALONG BORDER RAINBOW OVER GAZA VIEW OF LINE OF TROOPS WALKING OUT OF GAZA VARIOUS OF ISRAELI GROUND TROOPS WALKING ALONG BORDER AREA SOLDIERS SMILING WAVING ISRAELI FLAGS LEAVING GAZA WIDE OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS, APC'S ON GAZ
- Embargoed: 2nd February 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVACZTVTVMXNR33YUV6Q8RIWHH1R
- Story Text: Israeli ground troops withdraw from Gaza on Sunday (January 18) after Israel ceased fire.
A line of ground troops made their way out of Gaza, waving Israeli flags atop tanks rolling along the border.
Explosions and gunfire of the past three weeks went silent in Hamas-ruled Gaza after the Israeli ceasefire went into effect at 2 a.m. (0000 GMT).
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a televised address on Saturday Hamas had been "badly beaten" in the 22-day war.
Israel launched the offensive ahead of a February election to end rocket fire that was undermining support for the governing coalition.
Gaza's Islamist rulers vowed to keep firing rockets at Israel until it withdrew its troops and ended its trade blockade on Gaza.
But there were no reports of rockets fired at Israel in the hours after the ceasefire began, though several were shot shortly after Olmert announced the unilateral ceasefire.
Olmert said Israel's troops would remain in place and hit back if the Palestinians tried to fight on.
Olmert cited internationally backed understandings with Egypt, Gaza's southern neighbour, on preventing Hamas from rearming through smuggling tunnels, as a reason behind Israel's decision to call off its attacks.
After the deaths of 1,200 people, and more than 700 civilians, in the Israeli offensive, many of Gaza's 1.5 million people are desperate for a respite.
Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed.
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak invited European leaders to a short-notice summit to try to bolster the fragile truce Israel declared unilaterally though the Jewish state had sidestepped Cairo's efforts to achieve a negotiated truce with Hamas. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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