GAZA CITY
Israel on Thursday decided to indefinitely close down Gaza's only functioning commercial crossing Karam Abu Salem, a Palestinian official said.
"Israeli authorities said the decision to close down the crossing boiled down to security reasons," Gaza Border Authority Chief Nazmi Mehanna told Anadolu Agency.
Gaza has been pounded by Israel from land, air and sea for nine days now since Israel started its "Operation Protective Edge" offensive with the aim of debilitating the military capabilities of its resistance factions.
However, instead of incapacitating the resistance factions, Israel has killed around 226 Gaza residents so far, including children, women and elderly people and destroyed scores of homes.
Around 1673 Gazans have also been injured in Israel's attacks on Gaza and the number of casualties is expected to rise even more if military operations continue.
Gaza-based resistance factions have met the Israeli attacks with barrages of rocket attacks, some of them have struck at the heart of the Israeli capital Tel Aviv and some other northern cities, sending fear down the spines of almost everybody in the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
Blockaded by Israel since 2006, Gaza has seven crossings connecting it with the outside world, but six of these crossings are controlled by Israel, while the seventh one is controlled by Egypt.
Israel closed down four commercial crossings in June 2007 soon after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas captured Gaza.
Israeli authorities, meanwhile, keep Karam Abu Salem functioning for commercial purposes and specify Erez crossing for the movement of individuals between Gaza and the West Bank.
By Mustafa Haboosh
http://www.aa.com.tr/en
