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Israel Begins 'Gradual Withdrawal' From Gaza

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 18, 2009 2:46 PM CST
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(Newser) – Israel began pulling troops out of the Gaza Strip today after Hamas echoed the call for a ceasefire, the Times of London reports. As troops started leaving, Gazans came out of their homes to survey the damage. Mosque loudspeakers declared "victory," but Palestinians appeared too stunned to celebrate. “Everything has been completely destroyed,” said one man looking at his neighborhood.

Meanwhile, politicians met at an Egyptian resort to call for a permanent ceasefire. “Three weeks of tragedy must be followed by immediate action to secure a permanent peace settlement,” British PM Gordon Brown said at a press conference alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Guardian that aid to "the people of Gaza is the immediate priority."

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, as Czech Republic Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, center, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, as Czech Republic Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, center, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, Pool)
Residents return to the heavily hit eastern area of Jebaliya, in the northern Gaza strip, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
Residents return to the heavily hit eastern area of Jebaliya, in the northern Gaza strip, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Piles of furniture are seen outside a destroyed house in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
Piles of furniture are seen outside a destroyed house in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ashraf Amra)
Palestinian women sit in the rubble of buildings in the eastern area of Jebaliya after Israeli troops withdrew from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
Palestinian women sit in the rubble of buildings in the eastern area of Jebaliya after Israeli troops withdrew from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
A Palestinian man shouts from inside the rubble of a building as they search for bodies after the Israeli army withdrew in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
A Palestinian man shouts from inside the rubble of a building as they search for bodies after the Israeli army withdrew in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Israeli soldiers walk as they leave the Gaza strip after a combat mission, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
Israeli soldiers walk as they leave the Gaza strip after a combat mission, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, are seen in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, are seen in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, Pool)
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Gazans survey the wreckage
Al Jazeera

Foreign journos allowed into Gaza
Jerusalem Post (Israel)

 
Gaza • Palestine • Hamas • troop withdrawal • Israel and Palestinians • ceasefire • Arab Israeli conflict • Ban Ki-moon

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