Israeli Troops Pull Out of Gaza City

[tekisui]

Source: Sify news

Gaza City: Medical officials found 23 bodies in Gaza City's southern Tel el-Hawa neighbourhoods on Friday, as Israeli ground troops pulled out of the city and withdrew back to its outskirts just before dawn.

The troops, after engaging local militants in intense fighting in the Gaza City neighbourhood the previous day, returned to their previous positions in the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim, just outside the city's southernmost Zaytoun neighbourhood.

Three children were killed in fresh attacks on Friday. Two died when their house was bombarded in the border town of Rafah. Another girl was hit by a tank shell fragment in the northern Gaza refugee camp of Jabaliya, Gaza emergency services chief Mo'aweya Hassanein said.

Residents reported heavy damage in Tel el-Hawa the day after the neighbourhood witnessed the worst fighting in the city in Israel's now 21-day offensive in Gaza.

Some buildings in the relatively new neighbourhood, which contains many high-rises built with the support of international donors, were levelled to the ground, while others had large gaping holes in their outer walls.

more: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14838620&?vsv=TopHP1