Gaza offensive 'complicated', 'tough fight', says Netanyahu

"It was a complicated operation in the middle of tough fight," Netanyahu said in a statement a few hours after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian coastal enclave. He thanked the Israeli army for "neutralizing the Gaza attack tunnels," saying Israel destroyed 32 tunnels which Hamas had "spent years digging." "We have no 100 percent guarantee that all tunnels were destroyed," Netanyahu said. "But we did everything to complete the task." He said Hamas had dug out the tunnels with the aim of kidnapping and killing Israeli troops and civilians. The Israeli government and Palestinian factions have endorsed an Egyptian proposal for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip starting Tuesday. Israel has since completely withdrawn its forces from the besieged Palestinian territory. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 1867 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and 9470 wounded in unrelenting Israeli attacks since July 7. The Israeli army, for its part, has confirmed the killing of 64 troops and the injury of 651 others in Gaza combat operations, while three civilians were killed in rocket attacks on Israeli cities.