JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinians fired a rocket at an Israeli city near the Gaza Strip on Friday but caused no casualties, police said, as the Israeli military continued its closure of all crossings into the coastal territory because of ongoing rocket fire.
Early Friday's rocket landed in an industrial zone in Ashkelon, about 11 miles inside Israel, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Israel allowed a trickle of key supplies into Gaza during a five-month truce with Gaza's Hamas rulers, then shut the crossings after the truce began breaking down Nov. 4 in a flurry of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes.
Both Israeli and Hamas officials have said they hope the calm can be restored.
The closure has caused shortages of basic goods and fuel for Gaza's 1.4 million Palestinians. Israel says the closure will continue until militants halt their fire.
International peace envoy Tony Blair said he was "deeply concerned" about the resurgent violence and he called for the truce to be maintained and the blockade lifted. The reopening of Gaza to humanitarian supplies and commercial goods was "vital," Blair said in a statement issued by his office.
"The only lasting solution to the desperate situation in Gaza will require an end to terrorist attacks, continued restraint, and the opening of the crossings," he said. |