Israeli Troops Withdraw From Battered Villages in Gaza Strip

Israeli troops moved out of the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday after a four-day operation that left eight Palestinians dead, more than 100 wounded and tens of thousands without electricity or running water. Hours later, Palestinians lobbed mortar shells at an Israeli settlement in the strip.

At daybreak, tanks drove away from the villages of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun and the outskirts of the sprawling Jabaliya refugee camp, from which Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets at Jewish settlements and Israeli border towns. The tanks left two dozen demolished homes behind them.

It was unclear why the army withdrew. Troops frequently have raided northern Gaza communities to stop the rocket fire, largely to no avail. Even during the raid, some rocket and mortar fire at Israeli towns continued.

After the pullout, mortar fire on the Israeli settlement of Netzarim hit a house, damaged several others with flying debris and slightly injured two soldiers on guard duty there, the army said.

Heavy tank traffic cut up the main road in northern Gaza as well as several side roads linking major neighborhoods, making them impassable in sections. Some water pipes, electricity poles and telephone lines in the area also were destroyed, leaving about 130,000 residents without basic services, said Beit Lahiya’s mayor, Adel Hammoudeh.

Twenty-two homes, 10 shops and five factories were destroyed in the two villages and the refugee camp, municipal officials said. Several public buildings -- including the Beit Lahiya police station, the fire department and a rehabilitation center for the handicapped -- also were razed, the mayor said.

The Israeli military said troops demolished three buildings used by Palestinian militants to manufacture weapons and several other buildings from which antitank missiles were fired. The military also said there were heavy exchanges of gunfire between troops and militants.

At least four of those killed in the operation were civilians, including a 9-year-old boy, hospital officials said.