Egyptian mediators arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday in an effort to reduce tensions and prevent a new round of cross-border violence between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Hamas, which seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, said that three Egyptian general intelligence envoys headed straight for meetings with Hamas officials after entering the territory.
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A residential home in Sderot after it was hit by shrapnel from a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip
(Photo: Roee Idan)
The urgent visit came as hostilities broke out along the Gaza-Israel frontier after months of calm due in part to leaders from both sides being occupied by the coronavirus crisis.
For the past week, Palestinian youth groups affiliated with Hamas have fired incendiary balloons toward Israel, setting swaths of farmland on fire.
Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for violence emanating from the territory, responded with airstrikes on Hamas military sites, banned Gaza’s fishermen from taking to the sea and shut the main commercial crossing into the territory.
The Kerem Shalom commercial crossing on Gaza border
(Photo: AP)
Gaza's lone power plant is scheduled to shut down on Tuesday since the closure of the Kerem Shalom border crossing has cut fuel supplies, exacerbating the enclave's power crisis and leaving Gaza’s 2 million residents with about four hours of electricity a day.
Hamas says Israel did not honor previous understandings reached with the help of Egypt and Qatar, in which Israel should ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas’ takeover and allow for large-scale projects to help rescue its collapsing economy.