Israel 'to leave Gaza before Obama inauguration'

Israeli officials say troops will leave the Gaza Strip before tomorrow’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 ceasefire late on Saturday.

The decision could be linked to Israel’s desire to get off to a smooth start with the new US administration.

Thousands of troops started coming out of Gaza on Saturday. Hamas declared a weeklong truce yesterday.

Government spokesman Mark Regev would not confirm the timetable. He said only that if Gaza remains quiet Israel’s departure will be “almost immediate”.