Israel reopens Gaza crossings

Israel reopened its crossings with Gaza on Sunday after having kept them closed for nearly a week following a rare long-distance rocket strike from the Palestinian enclave, an official said.

Israeli and Hamas officials confirmed that the Erez crossing for people and Kerem Shalom crossing for goods were reopened for the first time since Monday, in a sign that ceasefire talks may be advancing.

Sunday's reopening comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians as tens of thousands protesters gathered at the Israel-Gaza fence on Saturday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there.

They began protests on March 30 last year to demand the easing of an Israeli-Egyptian economic blockade and the right of return to lands that Palestinian families fled or were driven from on Israel's founding in 1948.

Tear gas was used to disperse crowds as ambulances arrived on standby.

'Guilty of war crimes'

Israel's use of lethal force has drawn censure from the United Nations and rights groups. UN investigators said last week that Israeli forces may be guilty of war crimes for using excessive force.

Israel says it has no choice but to use deadly force at the protests to prevent people from breaching the border fence and attacking civilian communities in the area.

More than two million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal enclave where poverty and unemployment rates are high. 

The blockade is cited by humanitarian agencies as a key reason for impoverishment in Gaza.

Israel seized Gaza in a 1967 war and pulled out its troops in 2005.