JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a day after the terminal was damaged during protests by Palestinians that turned violent.

Dozens of Palestinian demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of the terminal on Friday, setting a pipeline that delivers gas from Israel alight and torching a goods conveyor belt.

The violence caused damage to the terminal, where humanitarian supplies are delivered, which is estimated at more than $9 million, Israeli officials said.

“The crossing will remain closed until the damage caused by the riots are repaired and will reopen in accordance with a situation assessment,” the Israeli military said, adding that in the meantime it will be opened for humanitarian cases only.

More than two million people are packed into the narrow coastal enclave of Gaza, where poverty and unemployment rates are high.

The incursion took place during a weekly mass protest in which thousand of Palestinians gathered along the Israel-Gaza frontier. Crowds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers and one Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire.

More than 40 Palestinians have been killed during six weeks of protests and tens of thousands of Gazans are expected at tented border encampments in the coming days.

Gaza is run by the Islamist Hamas movement, which Israel and the West designate a terrorist organization. Citing security concerns, Israel maintains tight control over its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza.</s>According to the Israeli military, the destruction is connected with border violence that erupted amid numerous attempts by Palestinians to break through the security fence.

"The crossing will remain closed until the damage caused by the riots are repaired and will reopen in accordance with a situation assessment," the Israeli military said in a statement.

As the military further specified, the Kerem Shalom terminal, used for goods transfer in and out of Gaza, will remain open only for humanitarian cases.

The situation along the Israel-Gaza Strip border has been tense over the last several weeks, as Palestinians have been holding mass rallies along it since March 30. The demonstrators claim the right of return for Palestinians that were displaced during the war after Israel's creation in 1948.

READ MORE: 'Like a Tiger': Hamas Leader Vows Strong Protests at Gaza Rally

The Israel Defense Forces have previously reported numerous attempts by Palestinians to break through the country's security fence amid the ongoing protests.

READ MORE: 'State of War': Israel Argues Human Rights Law Doesn't Apply to Gaza Protests</s>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a day after the terminal was damaged during protests by Palestinians that turned violent.

Dozens of Palestinian demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of the terminal on Friday, setting a pipeline that delivers gas from Israel alight and torching a goods conveyor belt.

The violence caused damage to the terminal, where humanitarian supplies are delivered, which is estimated at more than $9 million, Israeli officials said.

“The crossing will remain closed until the damage caused by the riots are repaired and will reopen in accordance with a situation assessment,” the Israeli military said, adding that in the meantime it will be opened for humanitarian cases only.

More than two million people are packed into the narrow coastal enclave of Gaza, where poverty and unemployment rates are high.

The incursion took place during a weekly mass protest in which thousand of Palestinians gathered along the Israel-Gaza frontier. Crowds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers and one Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire.

More than 40 Palestinians have been killed during six weeks of protests and tens of thousands of Gazans are expected at tented border encampments in the coming days.

Gaza is run by the Islamist Hamas movement, which Israel and the West designate a terrorist organization. Citing security concerns, Israel maintains tight control over its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Strip is rapidly running out of cooking gas and diesel fuel for hospital generators will only last another 7-10 days, officials said Sunday, after Palestinian protesters destroyed the fuel terminal at the territory's only cargo crossing.

In Friday night's attack, a large crowd broke into the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, badly damaging a fuel and gas terminal and a conveyor belt for aggregate and animal feed.

Israel closed Kerem Shalom, saying it would take weeks or months to repair several million dollars in damages. It was not clear when the delivery of consumer goods by trucks would resume, said an army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, adding that six trucks with medical supplies entered Gaza on Sunday.

There has been widespread speculation about the motives for the vandalism, with Israel holding Gaza's rulers from the Islamic militant Hamas group responsible. Friday's attack was the second on Kerem Shalom in a week, raising questions about why Hamas did not try to protect a key installation.

Hamas, which has a tight grip on Gaza, has not commented publicly.

The closure of the vital cargo crossing comes at a tense time in Gaza, which has endured a border blockade by Israel and Egypt since Hamas assumed control of the territory in 2007.

Since late March, Hamas has organized weekly protests near the border with Israel, in hopes of breaking the blockade. Forty-two protesters have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded by Israeli army fire during the campaign.

On Monday, the largest turnout yet is expected for a protest to coincide with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem. The possibility of a mass border breach, floated in recent days by Hamas officials, has raised concerns about large numbers of Palestinian casualties. Israel has said it would prevent a breach at any cost.

The rampage at Kerem Shalom, in the southeastern corner of Gaza, began just as Friday's weekly border protest was wrapping up.

Conricus, the army spokesman, alleged that Hamas "incited the violence that led to the vandalism of the crossing."

An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with briefing regulations, said Hamas security men were in the area at the time, using communications devices and telling people what to do. He said Israel relayed messages to Hamas to stop the riots and that Hamas refused.

A senior Hamas official confirmed that Hamas security men were in the area, but that they were unable to stop an angry crowd of about 5,000 people. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of he was not authorized to discuss the issue with reporters, estimated the damage at about $10 million.

The closure of the crossing creates new hardships for Gaza's 2 million people who have endured the fallout from 11 years of blockade, including just a few hours a day of electricity.

With a heavy reliance on generators, a shortage of diesel fuel needed to run them would be sharply felt in Gaza.

Gaza's 13 public hospitals have enough diesel fuel for generators for a week to 10 days, said Mahmoud Daher from the World Health Organization. In 14 clinics run by NGOs, supplies might only last for four or five days, he added.

"Coupled with the existing shortage of medicine and drugs and other materials needed by the health ministry this will add another burden on the already overstretched health sector," he said.

Gaza is also running low on cooking gas, said Samir Hamada, the head of the association of cooking gas vendors.

Gaza needs about 350 tons of cooking gas daily, but only about 300 tons are still available at private sales outlets, he said. Hamas ordered sales to stop to assess the shortage, he said.

Starting Monday, people can only get their cylinders halfway filled halfway to make the most of the available amounts, he said.</s>“For lo! That day is at hand, burning like an oven. All the arrogant and all the doers of evil shall be straw, and the day that is coming—said God of Hosts—shall burn them to ashes and leave of them neither stock nor boughs.” Malachi 3:19 (The Israel Bible™)

What should be the final protest on the border with Israel ended with 15,000 Palestinians angrily setting ablaze the crossing used to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Rioting Palestinians caused more than $9 million in damages to the infrastructure at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the main conduit for goods to enter Gaza. This was the second week in a row the crossing was attacked by Palestinians who set fire to the border crossing on Friday night. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon, approved a recommendation to close the Kerem Shalom crossing until repairs are made. It will be opened for humanitarian cases which will be considered on an individual basis. The arson also targeted gas lines that provided natural gas to Gaza.

The IDF statement said, “Israel and many countries around the world work to deliver goods such as food, equipment and fuel to Gaza’s citizens, initiatives which are prevented by the Hamas terror organization’s actions.”

Two brush fires were set in Israel by incendiary kites flown from Gaza over the security fence into Israel. Walla News reported that the IDF used specialized drones to attack the kites for the first time on Friday, bringing down over 40 kites on Friday.

On Saturday night, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroyed a half-mile long Hamas terror tunnel that had reached to within a few meters of the border in the vicinity of Israeli settlements. This was the ninth tunnel destroyed since October.

The IDF was monitoring the tunnel for several weeks before deciding to destroy it.



The March of Return protests began on March 30 and are set to end this week when the US Embassy opens in Jerusalem on Monday. 44 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with the IDF since the riots began. The IDF released a statement that it would double the number of troops on the Gaza border in preparation for the embassy opening when more riots are expected.</s>Israel has closed a border crossing with Gaza a day after it was damaged during Palestinian protests.



The military said dozens of Palestinians on Friday broke into the Kerem Shalom terminal and set a gas pipeline alight. The blaze damaged the pipeline and a conveyor belt that transfers goods in and out of the territory.



Israel said the crossing will remain closed until the damage is repaired and the situation assessed. Meanwhile, it is expected to be open for only humanitarian cases, the military said.



Kerem Shalom is one of three main border crossings between Gaza, Israel, and Egypt. It is the one where most goods pass through on a daily basis.



Friday's damage occurred during what have become weekly protests by Palestinians over Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory governed by the Hamas Islamic organization. A year after Hamas won power in Gaza's 2006 legislative elections, Israel and Egypt placed a blockade on the territory, which has hindered economic growth and exacerbated poverty in Gaza.



On Friday, the Gaza Health Ministry said one Palestinian was killed and 49 were injured when members of the Israeli army fired on protesters near the border fence with Israel and the Gazan city of Khan Younis.



In a statement Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces said about 5,000 Palestinians took part in the protests, most of which it said were peaceful. IDF said it only targets protesters who threaten the border.



Protests at the border have been taking place for weeks over the decade-long blockade of the Palestinian territory, where many families live in poverty. The IDF said some of the protesters have been burning tires, hurling rocks or homemade explosives, or even flying kites with burning rags attached over the border with Israel.



Israeli forces have responded with tear gas and gunshots.



Palestinian protesters carry an injured man during Palestinian protesters carry an injured man during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 11, 2018. Gaza activists burned tires near the sealed border with Israel on Friday in a seventh weekly protest aimed at shaking off a decade-old blockade of their territory. Palestinian protesters carry an injured man during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 11, 2018. Gaza activists burned tires near the sealed border with Israel on Friday in a seventh weekly protest aimed at shaking off a decade-old blockade of their territory.

The protests come just before Monday's opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, and Tuesday's 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.



The Palestinians have nicknamed Israel's founding "an-Nakba," or "catastrophe," because it led to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians being forced from their homes in what had been the state of Palestine.</s>GAZA CITY: Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man on Friday during a seventh week of protests on the Gaza border, the health ministry in the enclave said.

The 40-year-old died after being shot in the chest near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, while 18 people received bullet wounds in the protests on Friday, the ministry said.The death takes to 53 the number of Palestinians killed since protests began on March 30 calling for Palestinians to be able to return to the homes they fled in 1948, which are now inside Israel.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered at five different points along the border, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

Israeli forces responded with tear gas and live ammunition, according to Gaza’s health ministry.Israel’s army said around 5,000 Palestinians took part in Friday’s protest.“The rioters burned tyres, threw stones at the security fence and Israeli soldiers” and also flew kites carrying incendiary devices to set fire to Israeli territory, Israel’s army said in a statement. The protests are due to culminate on Monday or Tuesday next week, to coincide with the controversial relocation by the United States of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.</s>Since March 30, Palestinians have been holding mass rallies near the Gaza Strip border, known as the Great March of Return. The demonstrators claim the right of return for Palestinians displaced during the 1948 war following the creation of Israel.

The Israeli military has retained a strong presence on the border to prevent Palestinian attempts to damage security infrastructure and violate Israel's sovereignty.

Dozens of protesters have been killed and over 1,000 others have been injured as Israeli forces have been suppressing the demonstrations with the use of force. The protesters intend to continue the march until May 15, when they will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the displacement.</s>Jerusalem: Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a day after the terminal was damaged during protests by Palestinians that turned violent.

Dozens of Palestinian demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of the terminal on Friday, setting a pipeline that delivers gas from Israel alight and torching a goods conveyor belt.

The violence caused damage to the terminal, where humanitarian supplies are delivered, which is estimated at more than $9 million, Israeli officials said.

“The crossing will remain closed until the damage caused by the riots are repaired and will reopen in accordance with a situation assessment,” the Israeli military said, adding that in the meantime it will be opened for humanitarian cases only.

More than two million people are packed into the narrow coastal enclave of Gaza, where poverty and unemployment rates are high.

The incursion took place during a weekly mass protest in which thousand of Palestinians gathered along the Israel-Gaza frontier. Crowds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers and one Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire.

More than 40 Palestinians have been killed during six weeks of protests and tens of thousands of Gazans are expected at tented border encampments in the coming days.

Gaza is run by the Islamist Hamas movement, which Israel and the West designate a terrorist organization. Citing security concerns, Israel maintains tight control over its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza.</s>The only goods crossing between Gaza and Israel was closed until further notice Saturday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said, after Palestinian protesters ransacked it.

The Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza was badly damaged by dozens of demonstrators late Friday during a day of protests along the border, the Israeli army said.

The Israeli side of the crossing, several hundred metres away, was not breached.

"The crossing will remain closed until the damages caused by the riots are repaired and will reopen in accordance with a situation assessment," an army statement said, saying the fuel terminal at the crossing had been rendered "totally unusable".

It accused the protesters of being "under the auspices of Hamas", the Islamist group that runs the Gaza strip, without providing evidence.

The Palestinian body in charge of coordination at the crossing confirmed the closure.

Kerem Shalom is the only crossing open to transport goods into and out of Gaza, including fuel and food.

Separately Egypt opened its border crossing with Gaza -- the only one not with Israel -- for four days Saturday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are expected to protest along the Israeli border Monday against the moving of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Israel closes the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza after it is heavily damaged by a Palestinian arson attack, saying that humanitarian cases will still be allowed through while the damage is being repaired. Kerem Shalom is the border crossing where most goods transit into the blockaded territory.