Israel halts latest incursion into Gaza

Israeli tanks and infantry pulled out of the southern Gaza Strip early today, halting the largest ground operation in the area in months.

The troops entered the sparsely populated area yesterday, pushing more than a mile into Gaza.

Soldiers searched from house to house, detaining about 40 Palestinians for questioning, the army said.

Four Palestinians were arrested, the army said. No major fighting was reported.

Some weapons were confiscated and furniture and windows were broken in some of the homes, Palestinian security officials said.

The troops left the area at dawn today, the army said.

The Israeli operation was the largest inside Gaza since a cease-fire took hold last November, ending months of fighting following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants.

The truce collapsed last month when militants from the Islamic group Hamas began firing rockets into Israel.

Since then, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes and several small ground incursions meant to halt rocket launchers in northern Gaza.

More than 60 Palestinians, mostly militants, have been killed in the Israeli action.

There has been a drop in rocket fire in recent days, although four Israeli soldiers were wounded in a mortar attack on an army base near Gaza on Sunday. Hamas claimed responsibility.

It also claimed responsibility for firing six more mortar shells at Israel on Monday, causing no casualties.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005, ending a 38-year military presence.

Yesterday, the Palestinian government – composed of Hamas and the more moderate Fatah party – approved a proposal for a truce, Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti announced.

But the proposal also included the West Bank – an idea that Israel has rejected.

Officials have called the Gaza truce a “sham” and say West Bank militants would use any lull to regroup and increase attacks.