Israel set to quit Gaza before Obama inauguration

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel planned to complete a troop pullout from Gaza before Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday, Israeli political sources said, in what analysts saw as an effort to avoid any tension with the new U.S. president.

With a ceasefire entering its third day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon planned to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and view first-hand the devastation of a 22-day Israeli offensive.