Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday marked two years since Israel's devastating invasion of the coastal enclave at a time of renewed high tensions with the Jewish state.
In Jabaliya, just north of Gaza City, about 1,000 people attended a rally organised by the Islamic Jihad movement to commemorate the start of Israel's Operation Cast Lead, chanting for "resistance" against Israel.
The Islamist Hamas movement which rules the Gaza Strip put on a musical and theatrical performance at Gaza City's main cultural centre.
"There were 366 sons of the police and security services martyred in the conflict," said Hamas interior ministry spokesman Ihab al-Ghussein, adding 70 percent of police stations destroyed in the conflict had been rebuilt.
Hamas said it would also plant 1,440 seedlings in northern Gaza, one for every Palestinian the group said was killed during the 22-day invasion Israel launched on December 27, 2008.
