Rafah: The Israeli Army today (May 25, 2005) called a halt to its controversial offensive in Rafah after thousands of residents attended mass funerals for victims of the Army’s deadliest raid in the Gaza Strip.

A military spokesman confirmed that Operation Rainbow had been officially brought to an end after three tanks were seen withdrawing in the early evening from the Brazil neighbourhood of the town bordering Egypt.

"Operation Rainbow ended this evening," the army spokesman told AFP. A formal statement would follow, he added.

The pullout came after the lifting of the army's occupation of Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, site of the most deadly clashes since the start of the operation in the early hours of May 18.

A total of 43 Palestinians were killed during the offensive while scores of homes, mainly in the Brazil area next to the border, were razed to the ground by teams of Army bulldozers.

Army bulldozers continued to demolish houses today in the Brazil neighbourhood, even as thousands of mourners converged on the town's nearby soccer stadium to pay their last respects to 16 victims from Tal al-Sultan.

The funerals had been delayed as a result of the siege.