First Shipment of Clothes to Gaza Set for Thursday

The Gaza Strip will receive its first shipment of clothing and shoes in three years on Thursday, according to Palestinian officials. The 10-truckloads of goods will be the first since Israel slapped a blockade on Gaza following the takeover by Hamas. Israeli is under intense international pressure to ease the blockade, but has not indicated any inclination to allow materials such as concrete or steel that can be used by Hamas to either build its own fortifications or be used against Israel. Rockets continue to be fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Gazans want Israel to release goods stockpiled at the seaports, but Israel has refused to do so. Smuggling tunnels dug between Gaza and Egypt are the alternative to the Israeli-controlled crossing points and have created a significant alternative economy. But Egypt is building an underground wall to thwart the tunnel trade, and in doing so is increasing pressure on Israel to allow more goods to enter.