JERUSALEM, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Monday that it will close the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing as part of the measures against Hamas, an Islamic movement that runs the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud faction that the Kerem Shalom Crossing will be closed in response to burning kite attacks from Gaza, according to a statement released on his behalf.
Incendiary kites and helium-filled balloons have consumed at least 33-square-kilometer of land in southern Israel, according to official Israeli figures.
Netanyahu said he and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had decided to "act with a heavy hand against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip."
He noted that this was not the only step Israel was taking, without giving detail.
"As for Gaza, I've already told you that I have no intention to prematurely announce all the steps we are taking," Netanyahu said.
"There will be additional steps which I won't detail," he added.
The Israeli military also confirmed in a statement that the crossing would be closed later Monday.
A military spokesperson said the closure will be made due to "the ongoing arson terror and additional terror attempts led by the Hamas."
The humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, will be the only exception allowed through the crossing, the statement added.
In addition, Israel will reimpose restrictions on the zone it allows Gazan fishermen to reach with their boats.
"The expansion of the designated fishing zone in the Gaza Strip for the past three months during the fishing season, from six to nine naval miles, ends today and will not be extended. The fishing zone will be returned to the range of six miles," it said.
The sanctions come at a time of escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, created by a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
The burning kites are part of a Palestinian anti-Israel rally that started on March 30 along the security fence between Israel and eastern Gaza, during which Israeli troops responded with live fire, killing at least 133 Palestinians and injuring 14,000 others.
