Aid shipments to Gaza halted due to mortar fire from Strip

Shipments of humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip were again halted today after terrorists in the enclave fired mortar shells at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians says.

The humanitarian aid had been donated by Jordan and included medical equipment for a hospital sponsored by Amman in the Strip, according to the military liaison, known formally as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

While trucks were going through the crossing into beleaguered Gaza, at least three mortar shells were fired toward the terminal “and it was decided to halt the entrance of shipments until further notice,” COGAT says.

Israel shuttered the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the main passage for goods into Gaza, last Monday with the outbreak of fighting. It reopened temporarily on Tuesday but was closed again after rockets were fired both at Kerem Shalom and at the Erez Pedestrian Crossing, injuring a soldier assisting in the transfer.

“The terrorist activities of Hamas, which conducted launches, again and again, at shipments carrying civilian aid and medical equipment to the Strip first and foremost harms the residents of the enclave,” COGAT says.