Israel closed the main road for aids and food can get into Gaza

News24xx.com - Israel closed the main goods crossing to Gaza Strip as retaliation for a series of Palestinian fires and intrusion attempts into Israel territory. Only 'humanitarian aids' such as food and medicine only allowed to pass Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will use an 'iron fist' against the Palestinian militant group Hamas which controlling Gaza. A Hamas spokesman said the Israeli action was 'a new crime against humanity'.

Palestinians are raising kites and balloons carrying burning materials and explosives that have flown across the Gaza-Israel border since April. The action has triggered 750 fires in southern Israel and burned over 2,600 hectares of forest and agriculture and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, Israeli officials said.

The arson attacks began during a mass rally along the border, when thousands of Palestinians expressed support for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral land and demand an end to the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt. Israel and Egypt say the blockade is a necessary precautionary measure to tackle the militant.

Gaza health officials say more than 130 Palestinians were killed and 15,000 injured by Israeli troops during a six-week rally culminating in the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on May 15th. Israel says the arson attacks have caused more than 750 fires since April.

Human rights groups accused Israeli forces of using excessive force. While Israel says they only shoot to defend themselves or against those who try to infiltrate into its territory by pretending to be a demonstrant.

The Israeli army said the prime minister ordered Kerem Shalom's closure on Monday for "continuing terror and arms escalation, led by the Hamas terror organization". Almost all goods imported into Gaza pass through Kerem Shalom.

The United Nations says 43,087 freight trucks have arrived at the crossroads in the first five months of 2018. In May, 44% of trucks that crossed brought in construction materials, 29% of food products and 1% of health supplies.

 

 

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