Israel pulling out of Gaza as cease-fire holds

Next few days are critical
The Israeli military warned that the next few days were critical and that any Hamas attacks would be met with harsh retaliation.

"Right now the operation hasn't ended," Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said. "It has just transitioned to a new phase, to hold fire. To give a chance to a cease-fire to take over and end this operation."

Israeli soldiers danced on top of a tank and gave "V" for victory signs as they pulled out of Gaza, but the war moved to a close on an ambiguous note.

Israel emerged as the winner on the battlefield. But its chief goals — a permanent end to rocket attacks on Israel and weapons smuggling into Gaza — will require hard diplomacy and sustained international cooperation to achieve.

Hamas, meanwhile, lost hundreds of fighters and failed to turn Gaza into a graveyard for masses of Israeli troops, as it had promised. It hopes that its survival will boost its standing among Arab supporters as a foe, as well as righteous victim, of the Jewish state.

Civilians were biggest losers
While both sides put their best spin on the conflict's seeming conclusion, noncombatants were the biggest losers. More than half of the 1,259 slain Palestinians were civilians, according to medics, human rights groups and the U.N.

Aid groups sought to funnel more supplies to hospitals and food distribution sites from Egyptian and Israeli border crossings.

At least 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, were killed, according to Israel. Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at southern Israel, intensifying the fear of hundreds of thousands of people who had lived under the threat for years.

"We did a good job. Now we're going home," an Israeli soldier told Israeli television. His name was not released in line with military restrictions on the release of information. Smiling infantry soldiers walked toward the border in the rain, and a rainbow emerged from the clouds behind them.

The war had overwhelming popular support in Israel, a democracy where, in contrast, opinion was sharply divided over the 2006 war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Israel was condemned in street demonstrations around the world for the heavy toll on Palestinian civilians, and ties with the United Nations deteriorated after U.N. facilities were hit during Israeli attacks.

Allowing aid into Gaza
Hamas' deputy leader, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said on Syrian television that the cease-fire would give Israel time to withdraw and open crossings to allow aid into Gaza.

The truce took effect ahead of Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as president. Obama has said Mideast peace will be a priority for his administration even as it grapples with a global economic crisis. Israel also holds elections next month.

Leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Italy, Turkey and the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, attended the summit in Egypt.

Israel did not send a representative. Hamas, shunned internationally as a terrorist organization, was not invited. However, any arrangement to open Gaza's borders for trade would likely need Hamas' acquiescence.

"We must put an end to the arms traffic," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "Several of our countries have proposed ... to make available to Israel and Egypt all the technical, diplomatic and military — notably naval — means to help stop weapons smuggling into Gaza."

Sarkozy, joined by other European leaders, later traveled to Jerusalem for a working dinner with Olmert.

Pushing aside the rubble
In Gaza, bulldozers shoved aside rubble while men tugged at piles of masonry with their hands and plucked decomposing bodies from the debris. People recovered televisions and anything else of value from piles of debris, or loaded vans and donkey carts with belongings and ventured home.

In the southern town of Rafah, where Israel bombed dozens of smuggling tunnels, construction worker Abdel Ibn-Taha rejoiced over the truce. "We're tired," he said.

In the Israeli town of Sderot, battered by Palestinian rockets from Gaza, residents went back to their usual routines. One man sat on a sidewalk in the sunshine, eating a chicken sandwich.

"We want it quiet here," said 65-year-old Yoav Peled. "And if it isn't, our army is ready to continue."

More on Gaza

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