Israeli Completes Gaza Troop Pullout

[tekisui]

Source: AP

JERUSALEM (AP) — The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory.

The timing of the pullout reflected Israeli hopes to defuse the crisis in Gaza before President Barack Obama entered the White House. The military said troops remain massed on the Israeli side of the border and are poised to take action if militants violate a fragile three-day cease-fire.

The troops' exit marked the end of an Israeli offensive that ravaged Gaza and left a total of 1,284 Palestinians were killed and 4,336 wounded, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The rights group said 894 of the dead were civilians.

The Israeli military says 500 Palestinian militants were killed in the fighting. Gaza's militant groups claim only some 150 of the dead were armed fighters.

Israel launched the offensive to permanently halt years of militant rocket fire on growing numbers of Israelis and to halt the smuggling of arms that turned Hamas into a potent threat to much of southern Israel.

more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0...

[bemildred]

1. Good job. nt

[ohio2007]

2. Iranian News service reporting 'Palestians euphoric over victory. ( official Iran video )

Palestinians Euphoric Over 'Victory'

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f59_1232562337

Should Hamas,being the victors, pay to rebuild Israel ?