Hamas fires at Kerem Shalom crossing hours after reopening

Hamas fired rockets at Kerem Shalom on Wednesday afternoon, hours after Israel reopened the crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

A deadly Hamas rocket attack from Rafah on Sunday had caused the IDF to close the crossing.

The terrorist group’s “military” wing took responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, saying that it fired 114 mm short-range Rajum rockets at IDF soldiers at the crossing.

Later on Wednesday, another eight terrorist rockets were fired from Rafah towards the Negev town of Shlomit, located only miles from Israel’s borders with Egypt and Gaza. No injuries were reported.

Rocket fire continued on Wednesday night, again triggering air-raid sirens in the area of Kerem Shalom.

Separately, the IDF said that shots were fired at vehicles carrying Palestinian workers to the crossing, wounding several people. The source of the fire was unclear.

“Earlier today, a report was received of shots being fired at vehicles with Palestinian workers on their way to work at the Kerem Shalom Crossing from the Gaza side; a number of wounded people received initial medical treatment from IDF forces in the area,” the army said.

“The circumstances of the shooting are being investigated and the incident is being investigated. We emphasize that the Kerem Shalom Crossing is open for the passage of humanitarian aid and the activity on the Gaza side of the crossing continues,” the army continued.

The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit tweeted earlier in the day: “Following the closure of Kerem Shalom crossing due to rocket fire by Hamas, the Kerem Shalom Crossing is now open for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”

“Aid trucks are already arriving at the crossing. After a thorough security inspection, they will be transferred to the Gazan side,” the statement continued.

COGAT noted that the Erez Crossing continued to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza while Kerem Shalom was shuttered.

Four soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded, three of them seriously, by Sunday’s Hamas-claimed rocket strike, which hit a staging ground near the crossing. Thousands of humanitarian aid trucks have passed through Kerem Shalom during the war.

Rafah-based terrorists again attacked Kerem Shalom on Tuesday morning, firing two rockets and later four mortars, according to the IDF. One of the rockets hit an open area and the other struck inside Gaza, the army said, adding that there were no injuries or damage from either of the attacks.