Israel has announced that it will pull back all its troops from Palestinian territory to a defensive position after the Egyptian-brokered 72 hours truce came into effect on the morning of August 5.
Mediators are hopeful that this breakthrough will be converted into a longer-term ceasefire.
Israel has announced that its core target of destroying cross-border tunnels and neutralising Hamas’ rockets aimed at Israel has been achieved.
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 to end rocket attacks into Israel and destroy tunnels used by Palestinian militants.
Earlier, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to target the growing force of Hamas in the region until “quiet is restored”. He warned, “We do not know when this operation will end.”
According to a statement released just prior to the withdrawal, the Israel Defence Forces said that since July 8 it had taken out 32 tunnels designed to allow militants to carry out raids into Israel, destroyed 3,000 missiles and killed about 900 “terrorists”.
Officials in Gaza estimate that 1,834 Palestinians have died since the conflict began, most of them civilians. While Israel says it has lost 64 soldiers and three civilians during the conflict. According to the United Nations, about 260,000 of Gaza’s 1.8 million people have been displaced.
Author Profile
- India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.
Latest entries
DiplomacyApril 23, 2024Resetting West Asia, re-booting the world, but not fast enough: T.S. Tirumurti- India and the WorldApril 22, 2024India’s G20 Legacy: Mainstreaming Africa, Global South in global agenda
- DiplomacyApril 10, 2024Diplomat-author Lakshmi Puri pitches for women power at LSR
- India and the WorldApril 6, 2024UN envoy pitches to take India’s solutions to the world stage
