JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli troops have completed their withdrawal from Gaza after a three-week military campaign against Hamas militants, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday. 

Palestinians look at an damaged rocket launcher left behind by Israeli forces. 

"The forces are now redeployed outside the Gaza Strip, and are prepared for any development," a military statement read. 

During their withdrawal, Israeli troops warned Gaza residents to avoid unexploded bombs or shells left behind and report their location to Israeli authorities. 

Israel said it had achieved its goal to halt Hamas' firing of rockets into southern Israel from Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has controlled the territory since 2007, also declared victory in the conflict during a rally in Gaza City on Tuesday. 

Israeli troops began to withdraw Sunday following tentative, separate cease-fire declarations by Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Hamas. 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited the territory Tuesday, criticized both sides and the international community for what he called their "collective political failure" in settling the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

"I have condemned from the outbreak of this conflict the excessive use of force by Israeli forces in Gaza. I view the rocket attacks into Israel as completely unacceptable. We need to restore basic respect for civilians," he said. Watch troops prepare to withdraw » 

The conflict, which began December 27, has left more than 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. 

Confirmation of the Israeli withdrawal came within a day of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States, replacing George W. Bush, whose administration was among the most supportive of Israel in decades. Ban said he hoped Obama would consider settling the conflict "a matter of priority." 
Whose rocket attacks did he find unacceptable?
I view the rocket attacks into Israel as completely unacceptable