Israel has closed the Gaza Strip's Erez crossing point. Following rocket fire early this morning toward Israel’s southern communities, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj.-Gen. Rassan Alian announced the immediate closure until further notice, except for humanitarian and exceptional cases.
In a Facebook post Alian noted, "During the past week, we have all seen the violence breaking out in the Judea and Samaria [West Bank] area, the Gaza Strip, and even Jerusalem. Some of the participants believe sincerely that they are protecting the holy sites. But in fact, they are defiling them during the blessed month of Ramadan and on Qadr Night (Laylat al-Qadr). The participants are being cynically incited and exploited by those who are trying to escalate and inflame the situation, using violent and inciteful rhetoric on social and mainstream media."
The three rockets fired this morning from the Gaza Strip set off sirens in the southern town of Sderot and surrounding communities. At least one of the incoming projectiles was reportedly intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Also this morning, Palestinians in Gaza resumed launching balloon-borne explosives and incendiary devices into southern Israel.
The rocket fire and explosive balloons have been coming from Gaza for a few days now. Yesterday, Palestinians fired two rockets from Gaza toward the southern city of Ashkelon. One of the projectiles was intercepted and the other landed in an open area. No injuries were reported in either case. In a second barrage last night, two mortar shells were fired from Gaza but failed to reach Israeli territory.
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