Israel closes crossings with Gaza

Israel has temporarily shut its crossings with Gaza in a bid to put an end to a surge in rocket attacks.

Meanwhile, in a symbolic show of force an Israeli warplane attacked the offices of the Palestinian Interior Ministry, flattening one wing of the empty building, killing a woman at a wedding party next door and wounding at least 46 other civilians, witnesses said.

The attack was the first on a ministry building since Hamas seized control of Gaza last June.

An Israeli military commentator said it was meant to send a message to the violent Islamic group that further rocket attacks could cause the conflict to spiral.

The building, in an upmarket residential district, had been empty since it was severely damaged in a July 2006 airstrike. But even though it was unoccupied, it was seen as a symbol of Hamas authority.

In a parallel move, Israel sealed all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, cutting the flow of vital supplies in an attempt to pressure Hamas to halt the rocket fire.

But the attacks continued, with 16 rockets falling in southern Israel, including one that damaged a day care centre in the town of Sderot. Children were inside the building at the time, but no one was hurt, the prime minister’s office said.

Violence has grown since Tuesday, when an Israeli ground and air offensive against rocket squads claimed the lives of 19 Palestinians, including the militant son of a prominent Hamas leader. By last night, the Gaza death toll stood at 34, including at least 10 civilians.

Since Hamas wrested control of Gaza from Abbas loyalists, Israel has isolated the territory, although it generally allowed food, fuel and humanitarian shipments to pass.

In recent months, however, Israel has reduced fuel supplies in the hope that Gaza’s population would pressure the militants to stop the rocket fire.

The Israeli human rights group Gisha wrote to Israel’s attorney general this week, saying that due to fuel shortages the Gaza power plant had been forced to halve its output from 80 to 40 megawatts and asking him to order the immediate lifting of sanctions.