Region | Palestinian Territories
Israel to ease month-long Gaza blockade
Israel will ease it's month-long blockade on the Gaza Strip, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 12:07 December 4, 2008
- The decision has been taken as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid Al Adha
- Image Credit: AP
Occupied Jerusalem: Israel will ease it's month-long blockade on the Gaza Strip, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The delivery of humanitarian aid including the 70 truckloads of food and basic supplies as well as some fuel will be allowed into the Hamas-controlled area under Defence Minister Ehud Barak authorisation.
The decision has been taken as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid Al Adha, the statement said.
Israel has also lifted a four-week-old ban on international journalists entering the Gaza Strip.
Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner says the move also applies to international aid workers who had been banned. The announcement follows weeks of pressure from foreign governments and the leaders of major news organisations urging Israel to reopen Gaza to the media.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel condemned the ban as a violation of press freedoms.
The Israeli-Gaza crossing had been closed for more than four weeks since a shaky truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers began to unravel.
The ministry added that the opening of the crossings will be reviewed daily and depends on a halt in Palestinian rocket fire.
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