Despite rocket strikes, Israel reopens 2 Gaza crossings

Hours after five rockets were fired from Gaza Strip, Israel on Sunday re-opened the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings after they were shut down for nearly a week after a projectile from the Palestinian enclave was targeted towards Tel Aviv.

The Erez crossing for civilians and Kerom Shalom crossing for commercial goods were re-opened despite the projectiles fired at southern Israel from Gaza Strip late on Saturday night, Haaretz reported quoting the Israeli military.

The reopening of the key crossings at Gaza Strip comes amid mediation efforts by Egypt. Israeli forces retaliated by launching attacks on Hamas' military posts after five rockets were fired. No casualties were reported from both sides.

An Egyptian security delegation, which arrived in Gaza Strip on Wednesday, left on Sunday through the Erez crossing, amid heightened tensions between Israel and Palestine.

The re-opening of the two Gaza Strip crossings comes a day after thousands of Palestinians staged a protest along the Gaza border with Israel, marking the one-year anniversary of 'Great March of Return' protests since demonstrations and clashes erupted there.

The protesters are demanding the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes in Israel.If peace is maintained in the next few days, other restrictions would be relaxed at a later time, as part of the mediation efforts by Egypt, which managed to avert full-scale bloodshed clashes between Israel and Hamas after the rocket strikes.