On Saturday night Israel's security cabinet approved declaration of a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza. The declaration was quickly followed by a series of Hamas rocket attacks.
Hamas rocket attacks continued throughout Sunday into early evening with at least 14 rockets and at least 3 mortars striking Sderot, Ashkelon, near Netivot, Kiryat Gat as well as Eshkol, Sha’ar HaNegev and Sdot Negev regions.
The Jerusalem Post's Yaakov Katz reports that
Israel plans a rapid withdrawal of forces from Gaza and reports on military actions on Sunday:
Israeli officials on Monday said troops will leave the Gaza Strip before Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the new US president.
This is the first official indication that Israel plans a rapid withdrawal of its forces after announcing a unilateral cease-fire late Saturday.
The decision could be linked to Israel's desire to get off to a smooth start with the new US administration.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan was not publicly announced...
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday night that the remaining troops would leave Gaza "quickly" if the truce held, and IDF sources said it was likely that the withdrawal would be completed by the end of the week...
The IDF plans to give Hamas a day or two to completely stop the attacks and if they continue, the military has received permission from the government to renew ground operations. Under the cease-fire, the IDF will not assassinate senior Hamas leaders who come out of hiding but will renew targeted killings if the rocket attacks continue.
Israel National News' Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu reports that
troops began withdrawing from Gaza on Sunday after announcement of the cease-fire:
The IDF began a partial withdrawal of troops from Gaza immediately after a government-ordered ceasefire even though southern Israel continued to suffer rocket attacks. The troop movement was ordered despite a Saturday night Cabinet decision that troops would remain in the area until Hamas stops firing rockets on Israel...
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made it clear to European leaders ... at a dinner in Jerusalem Sunday night that he will order the IDF to remove all soldiers from the Gaza region as soon as conditions allow.
"We halted fire after reaching most of our aims," he told six visiting European leaders. "If the ceasefire will continue, we have no intention of remaining in Gaza. The IDF will pull out when we are sure there is not danger to the citizens of Israel. We do not want to remain in Gaza, and we intend to withdraw as soon as possible."
The question remains: What exactly are the aims that have been reached if Hamas can still launch rockets to terrorize an ever-expanding portion of southern Israel?
