A truck is seen at the gate of the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, the main passage point for goods entering Gaza, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on July 17, 2018. Israel decided to tighten its blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007 to put more pressure on the Islamic Hamas movement to stop releasing flaming balloons and kites into Israel, a Palestinian official said Monday. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)
GAZA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel decided to tighten its blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007 to put more pressure on the Islamic Hamas movement to stop releasing flaming balloons and kites into Israel, a Palestinian official said Monday.
Raed Fattouh, chairman of the committee to coordinate the shipment of goods from abroad to the Hamas-ruled enclave, told reporters that Israel has officially informed the committee on the closure of the sole commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel.
"The Israeli side informed us that Kerem Shalom commercial crossing is closed for shipment of all goods until further notice, except for necessary medicines," said Fattouh.
Meanwhile, Nizar Ayyash, chairman of Gaza Fishermen Association, also told reporters that the Israeli side informed the Palestinian liaison office that the Israeli army decided to reduce the area for fishing in the sea of Gaza from six nautical miles to three nautical miles.
Egypt also announced to close the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza due to technical problems. Rafah crossing point had been open since May 16, only closed on weekends.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he instructed the Israeli army "to defy the terrorism of the flaming balloons and kites released from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel."
Last week, Israel announced to reduce the numbers of goods and products shipped from Israel and abroad to Gaza. The number of goods-laden trucks allowed to cross through Kerem Shalom dropped to only two thirds of the number before.
Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed statement that the closure of Kerem Shalom and depriving Gaza people of the simple needs "is another crime that the Israeli occupation commits against humanity."
Palestinian and Israeli observers said that the new Israeli measures of tightening the blockade aimed at exerting pressure on Hamas to stop releasing flaming balloons and kites that caused huge fire in southern Israel.
Palestinian youth began to release burning balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip into Israel in the mass rallies and protests that began on March 30, known as "the Great March of Return."
Gaza's Health Ministry said that the Israeli army has killed 139 Palestinians and wounded more than 16,000 others since the marches started.
