Photo Credit: Ahmad Khateib / Flash 90
The Erez Crossing

The IDF announced late Wednesday that the land crossings with Gaza will be closed in response to the latest barrage of rocket attacks fired at southern Israel from the enclave.

“In light of increased rocket attacks, the Kerem Shalom and Erez Crossings into and out of Gaza will be closed beginning tomorrow,” the IDF said in a statement.

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Wednesday was the sixth day in a row in which rocket attacks were fired by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel.

At least three of the five rockets that were fired made it past the border on Wednesday night. Two were intercepted directly over the city of Sderot. One man was treated for injuries to his legs caused by tripping as he raced for a bomb shelter; two children and a woman required medical treatment for shock.

A third rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council district.

At least one other rocket failed to clear the security barrier and instead struck a school built and run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Numerous UNRWA schools were used as ammunition storage facilities by Hamas terrorists during the 51-day war started by the group in 2014.

The Palestinian Authority has allegedly taken control over the Gazan side of the crossings in a transfer from Hamas, in accordance with the terms of a reconciliation agreement that is being brokered by Cairo.

It is not clear what role the Palestinian Authority’s leading Fatah faction has been playing, if any, in the operation of the rocket attacks. Fatah’s military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was also involved with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the 2014 war against Israel, although that fact was not well known.

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.