As Tuesday midnight deadline for the beginning of forced evictions of Gaza Strip settlers expired, senior Israeli officers said that the evacuation of the biggest Gaza Strip's settlement of Neveh Dekalim would be completed in less than 24 hours.
A force of more than 1,000 Israeli troops moved late Tuesday into the settlement, going door-to-door in a last-minute effort to convince settlers to leave voluntarily ahead of the deadline.
The soldiers moved past tires set afire by protesters in the streets of this settlement, Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile, settlers of "Ganei Tal" reached an agreement Tuesday evening with the Israeli army, giving them until Wednesday noon to leave their homes voluntarily.
Earlier, Israeli Major General Dan Harel, overall military commander of Gaza Strip said "In the coming hours we will begin to come to residents, in particular of Neveh Dekalim, and demand that they come out." "We are entering the phase of forced evacuation," he added.
Accounts varied as to how many settlers were still in their homes Tuesday evening. One source said that out of 1,700 families, 1,000 had left, while a later report said 830 families had left. From Neveh Dekalim alone, 210 families left Tuesday, nearly half the settlement's total. Seven settlements were either completely empty or had very few families still in them.
