Israeli troops leave Rafah
2004-05-24 09:21
Rafah, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops lifted their siege early on Monday of Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood which had been in force since the start of the army's biggest ever operation in the Gaza Strip, residents said.
Around half a dozen tanks which had been posted at the entrance to the neighbourhood left at around 01:30 and there was no sign of any other military activity, they said.
Tal al-Sultan has been the scene of the fiercest fighting since the start of Operation Rainbow which began last Tuesday and has claimed at least 43 Palestinian lives.
Residents have been unable to bury their dead as a result of the siege, despite appeals by the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees to allow them to leave on humanitarian grounds.
An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that trooops had been withdrawn from the area.
"Troops have been redeployed and the encirclement of Tal al-Sultan is no longer being implemented," he said.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz told Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting the operation "would continue for several days, but not for several weeks", public radio reported.
- AFP