Israeli forces pull back, Haniyeh urges ceasefire

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called for a halt to fighting yesterday, hours after Israel, whose forces have killed over 40 Palestinians in recent days, withdrew from most of the northern Gaza Strip.

A statement from Haniyeh's office said: "To get out of the current crisis, it is necessary that all parties restore calm on the basis of mutually stopping all military operations."

Haniyeh's statement called for restarting negotiations, which had been led by Egyptian mediators over the fate of Corporal Gilad Shalit, whose capture by militants in a cross-border raid on June 25 triggered the Israeli offensive. The governing Hamas movement and other Palestinian groups have demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier. Militants pulled out of negotiations when Israel ignored their deadline.

Hamas's official spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, welcomed Haniyeh's call for a ceasefire and said the onus was now on Israel. Israeli government officials said in Jerusalem the Jewish state would only agree to a ceasefire once Shalit was returned and the rocket fire ceased.

Israeli forces have pulled out of the northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the Erez industrial zone as well as three former Israeli settlements.

Israel had seized the area earlier this week, creating what amounted to a buffer zone to try to make it harder for Hamas militants to fire their rockets into Ashkelon, one of Israel's main coastal cities, and other population centers near Gaza. Rocket fire has not stopped, however. Israel has been under international pressure to scale back its military operations, which have so far killed more than 40 Palestinians, a majority of them militants. One Israeli soldier has also been killed.

While ground forces have left the north, Israeli troops remain in southern Gaza, at the disused international airport, as well as near the Karni commercial crossing east of Gaza City.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli aircraft fired missiles at gunmen during pre-dawn fighting on the edge of the densely packed neighborhood of Shijaia, an Islamist stronghold adjacent to Karni.

Three Palestinians were killed, including a policeman in uniform. It was unclear whether he was taking part in the fighting. Several other Palestinians were wounded overnight, including another policeman.The clashes near Karni took place after Israeli troops and tanks moved into the area in search of tunnels that could be used by militants, the army said.

The Israeli incursion has piled pressure on the Hamas, which has warned Israel that its incursion complicated efforts to defuse the crisis over Shalit.