CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And Israel has begun pulling out of the Gaza area where Palestinians and Israelis are still clashing. We now have CNN's Mike Hanna. He joins us by telephone from Gaza City with the latest from there -- Mike.</s>MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli forces have completed their withdrawal from an area to the north of Gaza, that of Beit Hanoun, an area that they reoccupied for the first time in seven years. This reoccupation lasted for a 24-hour period, during which Israel bulldozed a number of orchards, of buildings in the area. Israel said that its intention was always to maintain a short presence in the area. It says the intention was to strip the cover being used by those carrying out mortar attacks on Israeli targets in the vicinity, as well, says an Israeli spokesman, as a deterrent, a signal that Israel will not allow to go unpunished any Palestinian attack. Now, the withdrawal followed -- came shortly after strong criticism by the United States of the Israeli action. But Israel continues to insist that the two factors were not connected. The Israeli government said the decision to withdraw again from the areas it had reoccupied had been taken before the very strong criticism had been made by the U.S. secretary of state. At present, there is still incidence of violence throughout the area: two mortar bomb attacks on Israeli targets in the course of the morning. Nobody was injured in those -- also in the course of the morning: a burial of a young Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the course of Tuesday. So, despite the fact that Israel has withdrawn its forces to positions previously occupied, emotions remain high. Tension remains high -- and also still in place: a complete closure of the Gaza Strip and a severe restriction on the movements of Palestinians within Gaza proper.</s>LIN: All right, that's Mike Hanna, reporting live from Gaza.
Conflict in the Middle East: Israel Continues Withdraw From Gaza