Israel Partially Reopens Gaza’s Commercial Crossing

Trucks carrying fuel for the Gaza Strip enter Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on March 16, 2014. (File Photo: AFP Photo)
Trucks carrying fuel for the Gaza Strip enter Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on March 16, 2014. (File Photo: AFP Photo)
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Israel Partially Reopens Gaza’s Commercial Crossing

Trucks carrying fuel for the Gaza Strip enter Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on March 16, 2014. (File Photo: AFP Photo)
Trucks carrying fuel for the Gaza Strip enter Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on March 16, 2014. (File Photo: AFP Photo)

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that Kerem Shalom Gaza's only commercial crossing will reopen following a decrease in incendiary balloons flown from Gaza Strip.

Lieberman’s office issued a statement announcing that in addition to food and medicine, fuel and gas will be allowed into Gaza Strip for the first time in a week.

"Gaza's residents need to understand that as long there are incendiary balloons and fires as on our side, life on their side will not return to a normal routine,” noted Lieberman adding that the crossing could return to full activity soon conditioned on the full cessation of fire-balloon launches and friction on the fence.

On July 9, Israel partially closed Kerem Shalom crossing in response to the incendiary kites. A week later, it imposed a complete shutdown of the crossing and banned gas and fuel from entering into the Strip, as a punishment for the continued phenomenon of incendiary kite.

The closure of the crossing was accompanied by other decisions, such as reducing the fishing area from 9 to 3 miles, before Hamas stopped flaming kites aircraft after a second deal was established between Gaza and Israel last Sunday.

Israel confirmed that Hamas had agreed to include balloons and kites as part of the deal. Hamas did not comment on the matter.

In fact, the fire kites stopped for several days before activists sent some of them on Monday and Tuesday.

Israel says the incendiary kites burned about 28,000 dunums of agricultural land, a figure that could not be ascertained, or to what extent the fires actually caused damage.

The decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing came at a time when Palestinian officials said the Strip was about to collapse given that the economic crisis inside Gaza was exacerbating, while important sectors in Gaza have warned that the extended closure of the crossing would mean the cessation of its services.

Gaza's Health Ministry warned that the local health sector in the Strip stands on the verge of a "severe crisis" due to a chronic lack of fuel for emergency generators.

"What remains of a fuel grant will only meet our electricity needs until the first or second week of next month," said Ashraf Abu-Mahadi, the head of the ministry's international cooperation department.

Hospitals in Gaza need at least 450,000 liters of fuel to continue operating each month, according to Abu-Mahadi. He explained that emergency generators were needed to cope with frequent power outages, caused by Israel's ongoing blockade, that can sometimes last for up to 16 hours at a stretch.

"This means Gaza's ongoing health crisis will only worsen, further disrupting basic health services," he warned.

Gaza's power company announced on Monday a further reduction in the Strip’s electricity supply after its sole power station stopped functioning. As a result, Gazans will lack power for 18 hours a day instead of 16.

Meanwhile, a power line used to deliver electricity from Israel has been cut off for about a week.

"We are trying to supply electricity to the residents of Gaza at the minimal extent of four hours a day, but this is also doubtful," Mohammed Thabet, spokesman for Gaza's Electricity Distribution Company said. Gaza residents will experience power blackouts for more than the 16 hours a day that has been the norm, added the company.

Gaza's energy authority did not explain why the power station was shut, a source told Haaretz that a lack of diesel fuel caused the closure. According to the authority's figures, Gaza requires 600 megawatts of electricity a day, but the power station, when it functions, provides only 120. Israel provides about another 120 megawatts, while Egypt supplies another 20.

Palestinian Authority and Hamas are in dispute over the administration of the Strip, exacerbating the electricity crisis. Israel, as well as the United States and the United Nations, are considering ideas on establishing and building a power plant in Gaza.



Fierce Fighting in Syria's Manbij as Tensions Rise in Homs, Coastal Areas

Men suspected of being part of militias or loyalist soldiers of ousted president Bashar Assad are detained by members of the new security forces during an operation in Homs, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Men suspected of being part of militias or loyalist soldiers of ousted president Bashar Assad are detained by members of the new security forces during an operation in Homs, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Fierce Fighting in Syria's Manbij as Tensions Rise in Homs, Coastal Areas

Men suspected of being part of militias or loyalist soldiers of ousted president Bashar Assad are detained by members of the new security forces during an operation in Homs, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Men suspected of being part of militias or loyalist soldiers of ousted president Bashar Assad are detained by members of the new security forces during an operation in Homs, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Syria’s new authorities are cracking down on former regime cells in Alawite neighborhoods in Homs and coastal areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

At the same time, heavy fighting broke out in northern Syria’s Manbij between Turkish-backed groups and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to the UK-based monitor.

The Observatory reported that at least 28 Türkiye-backed fighters were killed in the clashes, and Turkish forces heavily shelled SDF-held areas.

The SDF accused Turkish-backed forces of launching a major assault on villages near Manbij, but said they had repelled the attacks around the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River.

Türkiye wants to expel the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, claiming they are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group designated as terrorist.

At the same time, tensions have been increasing in the Alawite-majority neighborhoods of Homs as authorities conduct raids for former regime members, with effects spreading to the coastal areas.

In Tartus, about 50 community leaders representing various religious and social groups met with political officials from Syria’s military leadership. During the four-hour meeting, they expressed concerns about the coastal region, home to many former regime supporters.

The discussion focused on maintaining peace and unity in Syria, especially in the coastal areas, following updates on the political and international situation.

Lara Aizouqi, moderator of a press session organized by the Stabilization Support Unit (SSU), told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting included a wide range of local community members from various religious and social groups, as well as political representatives from Syria's military leadership.

Aizouqi said the community’s main demand was security.

A proposal was made to create local protection committees, allowing each area to safeguard itself and prevent chaos, with a commitment to handing over wanted individuals in exchange for guarantees against reprisals.