Israel was to allow cement into the Gaza Strip late yesterday for the first time in a year as crossings with the Palestinian territory were reopened in accordance with a ceasefire, an Israeli spokesman said.
Four crossings between Israel and Gaza reopened on schedule yesterday, Israel and the Hamas rulers of Gaza said. Since a truce began on June 19, Israel has closed the passages a total of six days in retaliation for the firing of rockets.
“After evaluating the situation where we had a couple of days where rockets were fired, no rockets were fired yesterday and this has enabled us to reopen the crossings,” Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said.
The crossings had last been closed on Tuesday, after Israel said two rockets hit Israel on Monday. Hamas denies that those rockets were fired.
The Hamas interior ministry said yesterday that Israel would allow in fuel, wheat and animal feed, in addition to five trucks of dry cement. About 26 sick Palestinians were also to enter Israel to receive treatment, the ministry said.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza a year ago, allowing in only humanitarian aide, after the Islamic Hamas overran Gaza. The closure has caused shortages in everything from electricity to shoes and gasoline. With no cement allowed in, all construction had ceased. Palestinians in the building industry were greatly anticipating the arrival of cement, with five trucks expected to enter Gaza yesterday.
The 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza have largely been unable to leave the crowded territory except for a short period in January, when hundreds of thousands crossed into Egypt after Hamas blew open a border wall.
Israel withdrew settlers and military installations from Gaza in 2005 but still controls most of Gaza’s access to the outside world.
An Egyptian-controlled crossing in the southern Gaza Strip was also to be opened yesterday to allow sick Palestinians to seek treatment abroad and Arab travelers to enter the territory, Hamas official Ayman Taha said.
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