Israel opens Gaza border despite mortars

JERUSALEM - Israel agreed to an Egyptian request and opened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday despite Palestinian mortar fire that violated a three-week-old truce. The request from Egypt was an attempt to prod forward the cease-fire, which was designed in part to ease Israel's crushing blockade of the coastal strip. In so doing, Israel suggested it might stop automatically closing the crossings in response to every truce violation, like the mortar shell Palestinian militants fired Monday. Hours after the crossings opened at noon, militants fired another shell into Israel, causing no casualties or damage, the Israeli military said. No Palestinian group immediately claimed responsibility for the fire, and Israel kept the crossings open. Earlier, two mortars exploded near the Sufa crossing, where Israel allows... [read full story]