GAZA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A Hamas leader said on Sunday Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip was a failure and had not cowed the Palestinians. "The enemy has failed to achieve its goals," Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader in the territory, said in a speech broadcast on Hamas television. Though he called the war, in which more than 1,300 Gazans and 13 Israelis died, a "popular victory" for Palestinians, Haniyeh said Hamas's decision to declare a truce on Sunday was "wise and responsible".
Arab Israelis take part in a protest in the northern city of Nazareth against Israel's offensive in Gaza January 18, 2009. Hamas said on Sunday it would cease fire immediately along ...
Israel
