Rafah, May 21: Israeli troops and tanks began pulling out of the Rafah refugee camp at daybreak today, residents said, after a three-day sweep that left 39 Palestinians dead, but it was not immediately clear if the operation was over. Palestinian security officials said Israeli snipers continued to control buildings, and attack helicopters were in the sky. Doctors said that relief convoys could not yet enter the camp.
Israeli military sources confirmed that soldiers were ''re-deploying'' after the operation in the camp, but they said that in principle, the search for weapons-smuggling tunnels under the border would continue.
A senior Israeli Member of Parliament warned yesterday that long-range rockets and anti-aircraft missiles might already have been smuggled into the Rafah area, and Israeli troops had to find them before they could be transferred to northern Gaza, in range of Israel.
However, withering international criticism may have had an effect on the Israeli leadership, especially pointed US displeasure, underlined by the US abstention on a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Israeli operation.
Bureau Report