Despite the ongoing unrest at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, Israel's top political echelon decided early Wednesday on a series of steps to ease conditions for Gaza's residents, including expanding the Gazan fishing zone to 15 nautical miles and opening the Kerem Shalom crossing to shipments of goods and equipment.
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Bassam Ghabin, director of the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing, said that 30 truckloads of cement, 120 trucks of gravel and 15 trucks of steel entered Gaza on Tuesday. He said the materials began entering on Monday, and that the crossing was operating almost at the same capacity as before the war.
An Israeli security official confirmed that building materials had entered Gaza. He had no specific details, but said they came under previously announced government decisions.
The government also decided to increase the amount of water it supplies to Gaza by an additional 5 million cubes.
The quota on the number of Gazan laborers allowed into Israel through the Erez Crossing was increased by 5,000, which bumps the total quota to 7,000.
The actions taken were conditional upon relative calm remaining in place, and will be re-evaluated as necessary. They The came during a tense period in which Hamas terrorists have launched incendiary balloons into Israel, sparking a number of wildfires across the border, and staged a series of sometimes violent demonstrations along the separation fence with Israel.
A Border Police officer who was shot by a protester on Aug. 21 died of his wounds on Monday. Two Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy and a Hamas terrorist, have also been killed from Israeli gunfire.
In recent weeks, the IDF's Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it was planning to allow more goods into Gaza if the security situation stabilized. Last week, it said it would "expand the entry of goods and equipment for international civilian projects in the Gaza Strip."
Later on Tuesday, Hama continued nighttime riots along the Israeli border. Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were lightly wounded by Israeli gunfire.
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