An open-ended cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip was holding today, as many people on both sides of the conflict wondered what was gained during 50 days of fighting.
The Gaza war, the third round of fighting since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power in 2007, left more than 2,200 people dead, caused widespread destruction in the densely populated coastal territory and paralysed large parts of southern Israel during much of the summer.
After more than seven weeks of fighting, the two sides settled for an ambiguous interim agreement in exchange for a period of calm. Hamas, though badly battered, remains in control of Gaza with part of its military arsenal intact.
Israel and Egypt will maintain a blockade tightened seven years ago, despite Hamas' long-running demand that the border restrictions be lifted.
The Israeli military today said there were no reports of violations since the ceasefire went into effect at 7 pm (1600 GMT) Tuesday.
Hamas declared victory, even though it had little to show for a war that killed 2,143 Palestinians, wounded more than 11,000 and left some 100,000 homeless. On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and six civilians were killed, including two by Palestinian mortar fire shortly before the cease-fire was announced.
Thousands of residents of southern Israeli communities in range of Hamas rocket and mortar fire fled their homes in favor of safer areas as criticism grew over the government's conduct of the war.
Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had deliberately not put the cease-fire to a vote in his security Cabinet because of opposition from ministers who wanted to continue the fighting.
Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, a longstanding security hawk, lambasted the Israeli leadership in comments to Israel Radio early Wednesday for "wanting peace at any price," an approach that he said would undermine Israel's ability to deter militants.
Netanyahu came in for particularly piercing criticism from veteran political commentator Nahum Barnea, whose columns tend to reflect mainstream public opinion.
"Israelis expected a leader, a statesman who knows what he wants to achieve, someone who makes decisions and engages in a sincere and real dialogue with his public," he wrote in the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "Instead they received a slick spokesman and very little else."
In Gaza, life was slowly returning to normal today, as traffic policemen took up their positions in streets overwhelmed by vehicles transporting thousands of people back to the homes they had abandoned during the fighting.
