Israel reopened its crossings with the Gaza Strip yesterday after having kept them closed for nearly a week following a rare long-distance rocket strike from the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, prompting Israeli tanks to respond by firing on Hamas military posts yesterday, hours after a massive Palestinian protest on the border between Israel and Gaza.
The Erez crossing for people and the Kerem Shalom crossing for goods reopened yesterday morning. They were closed on Mondayafter the rocket fire that wounded seven Israelis and led to Israeli retaliatory strikes.
Yesterday’s rocket attack and Israeli response did not cause any casualties. The Israeli tanks fired at Hamas posts in the central Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City. Tens of thousands of Gazans earlier gathered at the Israeli border to mark a yearsince protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.
Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during a demonstration ahead of the main rally and three 17-year-olds inclashes late on Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded.
Read the report in The Australian (AFP).