Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza
An IDF officer said that Israeli forces left Gaza before the start of a 72-hour truce, scheduled for 8.00 a.m, BBC reported.
The Israeli army had claimed the main aim of the conflict - to destroy militants' tunnels - has been achieved.
Israel's Operation Protective Edge has reportedly killed 1,800 Palestinians
Gaza officials say Israel's Operation Protective Edge which started July 8, has killed 1,800 Palestinians.
Some 67 Israelis have also died.
"The
IDF
will
be
redeployed
in
defensive
positions
outside
the
Gaza
Strip
and
we
will
maintain
those
defensive
positions," the
officer
said.
72-hour
humanitarian
truce
begins
in
Gaza
A 72-hour humanitarian truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Palestine went into effect on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.
The start of the truce at 8.00 a.m was preceded by a barrage of rockets from Gaza, with air raids sirens howling throughout southern Israel, including in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba, as well as Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported.
In the minutes before the truce, Israel launched air strikes on Gaza City and on southern and central parts of the Palestinian territory in response to the rockets.
Just before the truce came into effect, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the withdrawal of all of its troops to "defensive positions" outside the Gaza Strip.
An IDF officer said that Israeli forces left Gaza before the start of the truce.
IANS