Tense calm follows Gaza ceasefire

Israel says it is not interested in staying in Gaza

The fragile ceasefires in Gaza are continuing to hold, a day after Hamas said militants would stop attacks for a week to give Israel time to withdraw.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said he wanted troops to leave as quickly as possible, and some have already left.

Correspondents say that, after a second quiet night, people in Gaza are starting to pick up the pieces after more than three weeks of bombardment.

Israel called a ceasefire on Saturday, saying it had met its war aims.

Hamas later declared its own truce with one of its leaders claiming a "great victory" over Israel.

Big questions

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Jerusalem says many people lack the most basic supplies - food, medicine and fuel - and pressure is on to speed up deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Advertisement

The BBC's Paul Wood sees first hand the damage in Gaza

Big questions remain, our correspondent says, such as how much Israel will open the border crossings, who will police Gaza's southern border and how much power Hamas still has.

Local sources said the conflict had left 4,000 buildings destroyed.

GAZA LATEST Gazans confront shattered lives Broken town shows destruction Bowen diary: Real calm may come

A further 20,000 buildings were severely damaged, Gaza municipal officials said after an initial count.

Correspondents say the ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile, although no air strikes, rocket attacks or major clashes were reported overnight.

Palestinian militants fired about 20 rockets over the border after the Israeli ceasefire announcement, and Israel responded with an air attack.

Israel 'failed'

Surrounded by an array of European political leaders, some of whom were highly critical of Israel's tactics in the conflict with Hamas, the Israeli prime minister said his country was not interested in staying in the Gaza Strip.

"We didn't set out to control Gaza, we don't want to remain in Gaza and we intend on leaving Gaza as quickly as possible," he said.

The European leaders had travelled to Israel to lend their support to the ceasefires.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the opening of the crossings into Gaza was important to "make possible a resumption of the talks that are necessary for a permanent peace".

GAZA CRISIS BACKGROUND In depth: Gaza conflict Q&A: Gaza conflict Who are Hamas? Middle East conflict: History in maps

The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, said Israel had "failed to achieve its goals".

In a speech broadcast on Hamas TV station, he said: "God has granted us a great victory, not for one faction, or party, or area, but for our entire people."

Hamas said it would hold fire for a week to give Israel time to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.

"Our demand is the withdrawal of the enemy forces from the Gaza Strip within a week, along with the opening of all the crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid, food and other necessities for our people in the Gaza Strip," said Hamas's deputy chief in Syria, Moussa Abou Marzouk.

Meanwhile, the BBC's Paul Wood entered northern Gaza via the Erez crossing as part of the first group of journalists to gain independent access to the Strip from Israel.

Israelis and Palestinians give their views on Israel's ceasefire announcement In pictures

He says that in the town of Beit Lahiya he saw the first real destruction - streets churned up by Israeli heavy armour, overturned cars, a lake of raw sewage in the street and a mosque left as a charred ruin.

Hamas officials stopped the BBC from filming at one site where bodies were still being removed - a sign, perhaps, that there had been some kind of military target nearby, our correspondent says.

At least 1,300 Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources, and 13 Israelis have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on 27 December. Palestinian medical sources say at least 95 bodies have been pulled from the rubble since Israel halted its offensive.