A senior Israeli official indicated that the quiet along the Gaza border maintained for several days was reached as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, brokered by Egypt and the UN, but said a long-term truce could not be inked until captive Israelis and soldiers’ remains were returned from the enclave.
JERUSALEM – Israel will reopen its only goods crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip on Tuesday if calm is maintained, the defence minister said, after having closed it July 9 partly over kites carrying firebombs.
Palestinian leaders hoped a recently signed reconciliation agreement would lead to Egypt reopening its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, but those hopes seem to have been dashed.
Israel is halting mail service to the Gaza Strip “in light of multiple attempts to smuggle banned items… used for terrorism against Israel,” Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in occupied territories, posted on Facebook on Thursday.
A major crossing point between Gaza and Israel is set to reopen for the first time in nine years, the Israeli government announced Wednesday.
An Israeli from the country’s Bedouin Arab minority illegally crossed into Gaza on Tuesday, Israel’s military said, an incident that may affect a proposed prisoner swap with the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas authorities.
Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the second time in a month on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a four-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave’s Islamist rulers.