GAZA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A Hamas leader said on Sunday Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip was a failure and had not cowed the Palestinians.

"The enemy has failed to achieve its goals," Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader in the territory, said in a speech broadcast on Hamas television. Though he called the war, in which more than 1,300 Gazans and 13 Israelis died, a "popular victory" for Palestinians, Haniyeh said Hamas's decision to declare a truce on Sunday was "wise and responsible".

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