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 Gaza Israel steps up Gaza withdrawal after ceasefire • Troops to be pulled out 'at the greatest possible speed' • Olmert expresses 'deep remorse' for civilian casualties * Ian Black, Middle East editor, and Nicholas Watt in Sharm el-Sheikh * guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 January 2009 07.45 GMT * Article history Israeli soldiers returning from the Gaza Strip Israeli soldiers returning from the Gaza Strip. Photograph: Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images Israel pulled out more troops and tanks from the Gaza Strip this morning in what the government said would be a swift withdrawal – as long as a fragile truce holds. Hamas followed Israel in agreeing a ceasefire yesterday, ending three weeks of heavy fighting in Gaza that left more than 1,200 Palestinians dead and much of the coastal territory in ruins. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, indicated that his government wanted to get forces out of Gaza "at the greatest possible speed".