Israel Withdraws Most of its Ground Troops from Gaza
Amid outrage from the international community, Israel Sunday withdrew bulk of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip. However, as its Operation Protective Edge entered the 28th day, military officials stressed that the army will blow up the last Hamas cross-border tunnel by Monday, the Irish Times reports.
The seven-hour "humanitarian window" was to take place in all Palestinian enclaves except the east of Rafa, "where clashes were still ongoing and there was Israeli military presence," said the Israeli army, AFP reports.
Hamas did not trust the announcement; spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri sounded Gazans to proceed with caution. "The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," he said.
The month-long operation has killed more than 1800 Palestinians and 60 Israelis. Israel faced strong criticism from various corners of the world for having launched an attack on a United Nations-run school in Rafa, where 3,000 residents were sheltering. The attack killed 10 Palestinians. The United States said it was "appalled by the disgraceful attack," Associated Press reports.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the attack was "a moral outrage and a criminal act".
Army spokesman Lt. Col Peter Lerner confirmed that troops were still operating. "There is no end in sight. The reality on the ground can take us in either direction," he said.
In response to weeks of heavy rocket fire, Israel launched its 'Operation Potective Edge' on the Gaza Strip on July 8 - carrying out hundreds of airstrikes which eventually killed around 2,000 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians. Hamas is also known to have had fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel till now, turning the event into one of the bloodiest fights between two enemies.
