Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a US appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians, and rescue peace talks.
The Hamas militants who control the coastal enclave declared ‘victory’ and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted by an official as telling a parliamentary panel, “We are in the midst of a combat action. What happened in recent days was not a one-time event.”
And a senior Israeli official said there would be a “two-day interval” for a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In Gaza City, several thousand Hamas supporters took to the streets in celebration of the withdrawal and took festive photographs with gunmen. Israel’s security cabinet plans to meet on Wednesday to consider the government’s next move. “This very limited operation was intended to show Hamas what could happen,” the senior Israeli official said. |