Israel agreed to an Egyptian request and opened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday despite Palestinian mortar fire that violated a shaky three-week-old truce. Egypt's unusual request appeared to be an attempt to prod forward the truce deal, which was designed in part to ease Israel's crushing blockade of the coastal strip. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak agreed to the request by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who mediated the truce, Israeli defense officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss communications between the two men. Barak's accession to the Egyptian request suggests Israel might be open to relaxing its response to the occasional attacks that have persisted since the truce took effect. There have been no serious injuries. 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. Israel kept the crossings open. In all, 13 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza, the latest a mortar shell fired on Monday. Israel has responded automatically by snapping shut the crossings, which have been closed about half of the time since the truce took effect June 19. Under the first phase of the cease-fire, Gaza militants were to halt their assaults on southern Israel, and Israel was to gradually allow more supplies to enter impoverished Gaza, home to 1.4 million Palestinians. For months, the crossings have been cracked open only for humanitarian shipments, in an effort to pressure militants to stop barraging southern Israel with rockets and mortars. So far the truce has not eased conditions in Gaza because of the frequent closures. Should the truce take root, its final stage calls for stepped-up talks on opening a major Gaza border passage with Egypt and releasing an Israeli soldier Hamas has held for two years. Hamas officials were headed to Cairo on Tuesday to discuss opening the Gaza-Egypt passage. In Cairo, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said his group will resume talks with Egyptian mediators on the truce with Israel and a possible prisoner swap. He said talks will also address the fate of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, whom Hamas wants to trade for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Egypt mediated the truce because Israel has no contacts with Hamas, which does not recognize the Jewish state's right to exist. In related news, an explosion went off early Tuesday at a Hamas military training camp in Gaza, killing two members of the militant group and wounding three, both health and Hamas officials said. Hamas' military wing said in a statement that the two were killed while carrying out a "holy mission," suggesting explosives were mishandled and went off prematurely. The Israeli military said it was not involved. While trying to cement a truce with militants in Gaza, Israel is also cracking down on the movement's operations in the West Bank. For a second straight day Tuesday, the Israeli military ordered the shutdown of facilities affiliated with an Islamic charity in the West Bank town of Nablus.
