Israel on Wednesday shut down the Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip until further notice, according to Ma’an, which quoted a senior source in the Hamas government who said Israel informed Gaza officials of the move, following an Arab riot that took place on Tuesday at the crossing.
The source pointed to significant damage on the Gaza side of the crossing, the result of the riot.
The same source said so far Israel had only allowed two emergency cases to go through Erez, and prevented another 400 from entering. Traffic back into Gaza will continue.
The IDF issued a statement saying the closure of the crossing is needed to repair the damage caused by the violence that took place on Tuesday, and that traffic through the Erez Crossing will be approved only in humanitarian cases or on an individual basis.
Hundreds of rioters arrived Tuesday afternoon Gazan side and of the Erez Crossing and began throwing stones and damaging the facility.
Ma’an also reported on Wednesday that Israel has agreed to a “series of gestures” to ease the crisis in the Gaza Strip, among them an increase in the amount of fuel delivered into the Gaza Strip to produce electricity, and the entry of medical equipment financed by international organizations.
These steps were agreed on at a meeting held in Brussels Tuesday night in preparation for a donor conference for the sector in New York at the end of September.
So now they’ll have to wait.