JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday opened its only cargo crossing with the Gaza Strip weeks after closing it amid a surge in violence with the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing came as Egypt was stepping up efforts to broker a lasting cease-fire.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the reopening of the crossing was “a clear message to residents of the Strip: Quiet pays and violence doesn’t pay.”
Kerem Shalom is the main commercial crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and serves as the primary avenue for food, fuel, construction materials and aid to enter the beleaguered Palestinian territory. Israel and Egypt have imposed an economically crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the coastal territory from the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in 2007.
Israel says the blockade is needed to contain Hamas, a militant group that seeks its destruction. While the closure has devastated Gaza’s economy, it has failed to oust Hamas or loosen its grip on power.
In the past month, Israel and Hamas have engaged in three rounds of heavy fighting, with Hamas firing dozens of rockets into Israel and the Israeli military carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Gaza. The latest fighting ended a week ago.
Israel halted Gaza commercial imports last month, and terminated fuel shipments almost two weeks ago in response to incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza that have burned forest and farmland in southern Israel. Israel temporarily suspended fuel shipments to Gaza in July for similar reasons.
Fuel shortages in Gaza have contributed to chronic power outages that have left its 2 million residents with just a few hours of electricity a day. The United Nations had warned that the closure of the crossing would make the situation even worse.