Israel to ease Gaza blockade after weeks of pressure

ISRAEL approved a plan to ease its blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip following weeks of international pressure, but provided few details on what new goods would be allowed in.

The security cabinet’s decision was a response to mounting calls to ease the four-year blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory in the wake of a deadly May 31 raid on a flotilla of aid ships.

Under the plan, Israel would “liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza (and) expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision,” a brief government statement said.