Israel closes crossing to Gazans after new rocket attacks
India Today
As a response to overnight rocket attacks fired from the Gaza strip, Israel on Sunday said it will close its only crossing from Gaza.
Israel said it will close its only crossing from the Gaza Strip for workers on Sunday in response to overnight rocket fire, stopping short of conducting retaliatory strikes in an apparent bid to ease tensions.
The rocket attacks on Friday night and Saturday morning followed days of clashes at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound and a month of deadly violence.
The unrest -- which comes as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan -- has sparked international fears of conflict, one year after similar violence led to an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza-based militants.
"Following the rockets fired toward Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip last night, it was decided that crossings into Israel for Gazan merchants and workers through the Erez Crossing will not be permitted this upcoming Sunday," COGAT, a unit of the Israeli defence ministry responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said in a statement on Saturday.
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Two rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel on Friday night, one of them hitting the Jewish state and the other falling short and striking near a residential building in northern Gaza, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
A third rocket was fired at Israel on Saturday morning, the army said, with no air raid sirens activated for any of the launches.
