The Israeli army began on Sunday evening withdrawing part of its troops from the Gaza Strip, after both Israel and Hamas announced their ceasefire plans.
Footage of Israeli TV Channel 10 showed that Israeli tanks and soldiers were moving toward the border from inside the Palestinian enclave. An Israeli military spokesman later confirmed that the army has started pulling out part of its forces.
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Israeli soldiers walk on Israel-Gaza border after returning from the Gaza Strip Jan. 18, 2009. The Israeli army has begun withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, local news service Ynet reported. [Rafael Ben-Ari/Xinhua]
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It is still unknown how many troops Israel will withdraw at the current stage and when it will finish a complete withdrawal. Local news service Ynet reported that the departing troops were deployed to areas near the security fence along the border.
The partial withdrawal came hours after Hamas and other Gazan militant groups announced that they would stage a one-week ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip, during which Israel must withdraw its troops. The Jewish state has put on a unilateral truce since 2 a.m. (0000 GMT), during which Israeli forces are supposed to cease unprovoked fire.
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Israeli soldiers walk on Israel-Gaza border after returning from the Gaza Strip Jan. 18, 2009. [Rafael Ben-Ari/Xinhua]
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When declaring the unilateral truce on Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the Israeli army would remain in Gaza, and that Israel will consider the withdrawal if Hamas entirely ends its rocket fire.