Israeli tanks rolled out of Gaza Sunday, and infantry soldiers walked across the border to Israel. The withdrawal left wide scenes of destruction in its wake, with buildings flattened, and dozens of bodies recovered from the rubble.
According to the AP, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would leave Gaza quickly if the cease-fire holds. "We didn't set out to conquer Gaza, we didn't set out to control Gaza, we don't want to remain in Gaza and we intend on leaving Gaza as fast as possible," Olmert said at a dinner with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Spain.
He also voiced sorrow over the deaths of civilians in Gaza Strip, calling them "hostages of the Hamas murders" and vowed to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the territory. The Israeli army refused to say how many troops had withdrawn.
Leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Italy, Turkey and the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, were in Egypt to lend international backing to the cease-fire. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon were also expected to attend. Israel said it was not sending a representative to the meeting. But Sunday evening, leaders from Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and France and the European Union were coming to Jerusalem for a working dinner with Olmert.
Ban welcomed the Israeli move and urged Hamas to stop its rocket fire. "Urgent humanitarian access for the people of Gaza is the immediate priority," he said. The United Nations chief said the world body would send a team to assess humanitarian needs.
