GAZA CITY (AFP)
Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, after a raid that left seven people dead, including a 10-year-old boy.
Palestinians reported seeing several Israeli tanks rolling out of the territory before dawn, and the army confirmed that the operation had ended at 4:00 am local time (0100 GMT).
Palestinian medics said the toll from the operation rose to seven overnight when a militant from the armed wing of the Hamas movement died of his wounds. Another 27 people were wounded, with four in a serious condition.
Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers, backed by assault helicopters, had advanced one kilometer (about half a mile) into central Gaza early on Friday near the Bureij refugee camp in the south, drawing heavy fire from militants.
Israel has vowed to "settle the score" with the Islamist Hamas movement for a border attack that killed two Israeli civilians on Wednesday, ending a month of relative calm in and around Gaza.
Three smaller armed groups claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israel blames Hamas because it controls Gaza, where it ousted forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June.
At least 387 people have been killed since Israel and the Palestinians formally re-launched peace talks at a U.S. conference in November, the vast majority of them Gaza militants, according to an AFP tally.
Since the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising in 2000 at least 6,350 people have been killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians. |
