JERUSALEM — Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip early today after a 48-hour ground incursion that had prompted growing international criticism and a suspension of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Mounting casualties in Gaza drew protests from European and Arab capitals and sent thousands of Palestinians into the streets across the West Bank, where Israeli troops killed a teenager during a demonstration Sunday.
Israeli officials said the weekend incursion by hundreds of troops backed by tanks had inflicted heavy losses on militant rocket-firing squads. The troops withdrew around dawn, but officials said airstrikes and other "defensive measures" against the militants would continue.
The ground operation "has run its course," Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio. "There were dozens of deaths among the terrorists. This is certainly deterrence."
Hamas, the Islamic group that runs Gaza, declared victory as residents of northern Gaza who had taken refuge in their homes poured into the streets. He said the rocket fire into southern Israel would continue.
"The enemy has been defeated," said Sami abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official.
The rise in violence, which began Wednesday, posed a challenge for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had hoped during her visit here this week to advance peace talks. President Bush helped launch the negotiations in November with the aim of reaching an accord on Palestinian statehood by the end of his term.
Instead, Rice faces the task of getting talks back on track.
Nabil abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said that Israel's "unjust war and open-ended massacre [in Gaza] is obstructing the peace process," making it untenable for Palestinian negotiators to meet with Israeli counterparts "until the aggression ends."
It was not clear whether the departure of Israel's ground troops would lead to an early resumption of the talks.
Israeli officials say the incursion aimed to push Hamas and other militant groups away from the border, putting their rockets beyond range of Israeli towns that have been hit nearly every day for months.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak indicated Sunday that the assault was a rehearsal for a bigger Israeli operation that he said would try to weaken Gaza's ruling Hamas movement "and, in the right circumstances, even bring it down."
