Israel to Close Gaza Crossing Despite Hamas Talks

Israel will shut Erez Crossing on the Gaza Strip’s northern border, multiple Palestinian media are reporting. Erez is the only pedestrian crossing between the embattled Gaza Strip and Israel.

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Despite reports of progress in long-term ceasefire agreement talks, Hamas was informed that the border will be closed as of Sunday. Contrastingly, the group recently stated that negotiations with Israel were in “the final stretch.”

Last week, Al-Mayadeen also reported that the deal would last for a year and involve the establishment of a cargo shipping connection between the Gaza and Cyprus. Israel will have security control of the sea traffic between the Palestinian coast and Cyprus, according to the report.

Currently, goods heading to Gaza are shipped to Israeli ports and then trucked into the region. Israel also maintains a military blockade which prevents air or sea traffic.

Erez will allegedly still be open for medical emergencies, though Israeli has declined to state when the area will be fully reopened and accessible to all.

On Friday, thousands of Gazans protested along the Israeli border near the Crossing during the weekly ‘March of Return’ demonstrations. The health ministry in Gaza reported that two men had been killed and more than 250 others injured during the protest.

At least 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the March of Return commenced.