Crossing was closed since weekend after rocket attack
Israeli army battle tanks and military vehicles take position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. Pic/AP
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed nearly three days earlier after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
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An Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt early Tuesday, and it remained closed. Associated Press journalists heard sporadic explosions and gunfire in the area overnight, including two large blasts early Wednesday.
Rafah has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit. Israel now controls all of Gaza’s border crossings for the first time since it withdrew troops and settlers from the territory nearly two decades ago.
US bomb shipment paused over Rafah
Children stand by a missile impact crater after Israeli bombardment in Rafah. Pic/AFP
The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on of Rafah against the wishes of the US, a senior administration official, said. The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (225-kg) bombs, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, with the focus of US concern being the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting.
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