GAZA CITY, 4 March 2008 — Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip yesterday after five days of heavy fighting that left 118 Palestinians dead and more than 300 wounded.

Hamas called the Israeli withdrawal a victory for the movement’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, and other Palestinian armed factions. Hamas members, who control the coastal enclave, vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the main southern city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew, wounding one person.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that despite the end of the five-day operation, Israel would pursue further military action in Gaza until rocket fire was reduced significantly. “We are not willing to show tolerance, period. We will respond,” he said.

A senior Israeli official said, however, there would be a “two-day interval” for a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that begins today.

Israel had been under pressure from its allies in Washington to halt the violence after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended US-backed peace talks in protest at the bloodshed.

Speaking after the pullout, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the peace talks, which Washington hopes can result in a statehood deal this year, would remain frozen for now.

“We are working hard to reach a full calm, a full cessation of hostilities. We want to make sure that what happened will not recur,” Erekat said.

Addressing his centrist Kadima party, Olmert said he hoped to continue talks with Abbas, but “under no circumstances will we restrain ourselves in the face of terror from Gaza.”

In Gaza City, Hamas supporters took to the streets in celebration of the withdrawal. Some snapped festive photographs with gunmen as the chant “The invaders fled and the army of Jews was defeated” rang out from loudspeakers.

Rice Visit

Rice is to hold talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah today and tomorrow on moving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations forward.

The talks have shown little progress so far, with both sides divided over the scope of an agreement.

Abbas seeks a full peace accord that would enable him to declare a state, while Olmert says the goal is an understanding of “basic principles.”

Meanwhile, Egypt unsealed a sensitive border crossing with Gaza for a second day yesterday to allow wounded civilians into Egypt for medical care, Egyptian security sources said.

Overnight, Israel carried out several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing three Hamas members.

The Israeli Army said it had targeted workshops making rockets.

After Israeli troops left Gaza, municipal workers began repairing roads and power lines damaged in the fighting. Many gray concrete houses were pockmarked by bullets.

— With input from agencies