Israel reopens Gaza crossings

JERUSALEM - Israel reopened its crossings with the Gaza Strip 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.

The Erez crossing for people and the Kerem Shalom crossing for goods reopened Sunday morning, a spokeswoman for COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees the crossings, said.

They were closed on Monday after the rocket fire that wounded seven Israelis and led to Israeli retaliatory strikes.

Sunday's reopening comes hours after Palestinian militants launched rockets into Israel overnight and the military responded with tank fire.

Four Palestinians, including three teens, died a day earlier from Israeli fire as tens of thousands took part in mass protests along the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence.

Egyptian mediators have tried to reach a cease-fire agreement to end six days of hostilities, which began when a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck a home near Tel Aviv Monday.