An Israeli armoured personnel carrier drives near the Erez Crossing, which connects the northern Gaza Strip with Israel, on May 21, 2021.
(EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP)
Israel will reopen a key border crossing with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Sunday for the first time since COVID-19 took hold in March last year, allowing entry to hundreds of traders.
The move will permit entry through the Erez crossing “for 1,000 merchants and 350 senior Gazan businesspeople,” according to a statement from the Defense Ministry. Only those already vaccinated against, or recovered from COVID-19, will be allowed to cross.
Trade will also be expanded through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of Gaza, including equipment and goods for humanitarian infrastructure, such as water and sewage.
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An 11-day conflict in May between Israel’s army and Hamas fighters killed at least 243 people in Gaza and 12 people in Israel. The World Bank estimated the impoverished strip would require as much as US$485 million in aid over two years to recover from the fighting, including for repairs to damaged infrastructure and reinstating essential services. More than 60 percent of Gazans were “food insecure,” it said.