Israeli forces pull back after Gaza city offensive, leaving dozens of bodies

CAIRO/GAZA, July 12 (Agencies): Israeli forces retreated from some Gaza City districts overnight after a fierce, week-long offensive, leaving dozens of dead and wrecked homes and roads in the Palestinian enclave's biggest urban area, residents and rescue service said on Friday.
The offensive, 10 months into Israel's campaign to eliminate Hamas militants, took place as US-backed mediators sought to finalise a peace deal that would free remaining hostages taken by the militants in their cross-border rampage on Oct. 7.
The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said teams had collected around 60 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces over the past week from the area of Tel Al-Hawa and the edges of the Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City.
Both residents and rescue teams cautioned that while tanks withdrew from some areas, Israeli snipers and tanks continued to control high ground at some locations, and warned residents from there against trying to return home.
"There are bodies scattered in the streets, dismembered bodies, there are bodies of entire families, there are also bodies inside a home of an entire family that was completely burned," Gaza Strip Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in comments carried by media in Hamas-run Gaza.
Meanwhile, around 60 bodies were found under the rubble of a Gaza City neighbourhood, officials in the Hamas-run territory said Thursday, after Israel's military declared an end to its operation there.
The upsurge in fighting, bombardment and displacement in the eastern district of Shujaiya came as talks were held in mediator Qatar towards a truce and hostage release deal.
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday the Israel-Gaza war must end now and Israel must not occupy the enclave after the war, telling reporters his ceasefire framework had been agreed on by both Israel and Hamas but there were still gaps to close.
"That framework is now agreed on by both Israel and Hamas. So I sent my team to the region to hammer out the details," Biden said in a news conference.
Biden in late May detailed a proposal of three phases aimed at achieving a ceasefire, the release of hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and the rebuilding of the coastal enclave.
CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk were in the Middle East this week meeting with regional counterparts to discuss the ceasefire deal.
"These are difficult, complex issues. There are still gaps to close. We're making progress. The trend is positive. I'm determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now," Biden said in the press conference.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has accepted a key part of a US plan, dropping a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement.