"Israeli" tanks withdraw from southern Gaza

‘Israeli' tanks, which had been backed by helicopter gunships, have withdrawn from the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis, witnesses say.

Dozens of ‘Israeli' tanks rolled into Khan Yunis along with ground troops early on Tuesday morning but withdrew from the city before dawn on Wednesday and returned to ‘Israel', AFP quoted witnesses as saying.

An army spokesman refrained from commenting on the report.

'Israeli' ground forces began a full-scale invasion of Gaza on Saturday after pounding the region with airstrikes for a week.

According to Tel Aviv, the war on Gaza is aimed at ending rocket attacks against ‘Israeli' settlers, toppling Hamas and preventing the resistance group from rearming.

Hamas, however, demands a cessation of ‘Israeli' attacks and the opening of the Gaza border -- which has been closed due to the 18-month blockade imposed on the strip by Tel Aviv.

So far the ‘Israeli' aggression has killed over 660 Palestinians, half of whom are women and children. More than 2,950 others have been wounded and many are feared to be under the rubble.

The recent ‘Israeli'-Palestinian conflict is the latest of a series which began when world powers created ‘Israel' in 1948 under the Zionist slogan of a 'land without a people and a people without a land'.