Jerusalem, Jan. 19: Israel has begun withdrawing troops from the Gaza Strip after a unilateral ceasefire came into effect, ending over three weeks of hostilities with the militant group Hamas.

The withdrawal of troops comes as Egypt is playing host to an international summit of European and Arab leaders aimed at shoring up the truce. In Cairo, officials are scheduled to hold talks with the Hamas leadership in a bid to make them accept the cease-fire arrangement.

European leaders called on Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and on militants to stop firing rockets, before heading to Jerusalem to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Gaza City/Tel Aviv - Israel pulled more troops out of Gaza overnight, as a fragile truce which ended three weeks of deadly and destructive attacks in the strip entered its second day Monday.

"We are continuing to dilute the forces," a military official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Reserve soldiers who had pulled out, however, were not yet being released and remained on high alert.

Gazans and Israelis meanwhile woke up after a relatively quiet night, with the military official saying no rockets landed in southern Israel and the military carrying out no air-strikes in response.

Damascus  - The exiled number two of the Islamist movement Hamas, Mussa Abu Marzuq, said Sunday an agreement was reached between the Palestinian factions for a one-week truce to allow Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza.

Delivering a speech on Syrian state television, where the meeting of the Palestinian factions took place, Abu Murzuq said: "We in the Palestinian resistance movements announce a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and demand that enemy forces withdraw in one week and open all the border crossings to allow the entry of humanitarian aid essential needs."

He added that the movement is ready to accept all political efforts, particularly those of the Egyptians, Turks, Syrians and Qataris, to reach an agreement that meets Hamas' demands.

Gaza City - Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, said Sunday they agreed to a ceasefire with Israel, but gave the Jewish state one week to withdraw its forces from the

Rome - Pope Benedict XVI welcomed Sunday Israeli's unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza and called on the parties to take the opportunity to establish a lasting peace.

The pope in his Angelus prayers, said he stood behind all those on both sides of the conflict "who believe that there is room for everyone in the Holy Land."

Brussels  - The European Commission on Sunday welcomed the unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel and called on Hamas to refrain from violence so that human suffering in Gaza could end.

The ceasefire was indispensable, said External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The stop in violence was also necessary to allow the EU and other donors to help the people in Gaza.

"Our priority is a permanent peace," she said, adding that she hoped that the crossings into Gaza would be opened again soon and that all Israeli soldiers would be withdrawn from the Gaza Strip.