News / Middle East

Israel Allows Building Materials Into Gaza

A member of Hamas security forces checks a truck loaded with gravel at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip, December 30, 2012.
A member of Hamas security forces checks a truck loaded with gravel at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip, December 30, 2012.
TEXT SIZE - +
VOA News
Israel has eased its five-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, allowing truckloads of building materials for private use to cross into the Palestinian territory in recent days.

The materials purchased in Egypt are part of $400 million in projects Qatar has pledged for Gaza.

Israel imposed the blockade in 2007 after the militant group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip.  It later eased some restrictions, but retained controls on building materials.

Smugglers have brought building materials and other supplies into Gaza through a network of tunnels under the Egyptian border.

You May Like

India, China Pledge to Overcome Border Tensions

Indian prime minister and Chinese premier attempt to move past tense standoff in the Himalayas during Delhi talks More

Burmese President Opens US Visit with VOA Town Hall Meeting

Ahead of his meeting with President Obama Monday, Thein Sein answered questions on human rights and economic development in his country More

Video Washington Week: Focus on Burma, US Government Scandals

President Thein Sein visits the White House on Monday, Congressional probes of multiple scandals are continuing More

Featured Videos

Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Video

Video Boston Bomber Spent 6 Months in Russia’s Most Violent Republic

The news of the Boston Marathon bombings circled the globe, and resonated here in Dagestan, a majority Muslim republic in Russia, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Last year, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of two brothers suspected of the bombings and a long-time Boston resident, returned to Dagestan, where he had lived for a year during his youth. Dagestan was the land of his maternal ancestors. But in the last two years, this republic of 3 million people has gained notoriety as the region with the highest level of political and religious violence in all of Russia. VOA's James Brooke reports from Makhachkala, Russia.