Israel has agreed to ease its land blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The move comes as the country tries to subdue criticism over its deadly raid of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla two weeks ago.
Israel says it will allow more civilian products into the territory, including construction materials for civilian projects. But its naval blockade will remain in force.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released few details about the changes Thursday. His government's announcement did not specify how procedures would change, saying only that cabinet ministers would decide in the coming days how to implement the new policy.
Israel has tightly restricted materials like cement and steel, arguing that Hamas militants could use them to build weapons and fortifications. That policy has prevented Gaza from rebuilding after the fierce war in the territory last year.
There was no mention in the statement of any change in other restrictive aspects of the blockade, like bans on exports or allowing in raw materials used in industrial production.
The statement noted that Israel would "continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war materiel," signalling the sea blockade would not be lifted. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that if the naval closure is lifted, Hamas would turn Gaza into an "Iranian port."
Israel has been seeking ways to ease the blockade since a May 31 raid on a blockade-busting flotilla led to the deaths of nine Turkish activists on board one of the ships.
Thursday's announcement on the partial lifting of the siege did not satisfy Hamas.
Commenting on the announcement, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said some of the goods that will now be allowed in were "trivial and secondary."
"What is needed is a complete lifting of the blockade. Goods and people must be free to enter and leave. Gaza especially needs construction material, which must be allowed to come in without restrictions," he said.
Israel imposed the blockade in 2006, when an Israeli soldier, Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, was seized by Gaza militants. It was tightened a year later when Hamas violently took control of Gaza.
For the most part, only basic humanitarian goods have been allowed in, but other items -- some as banal as toilet paper and ginger -- have been banned.
Three years on, the blockade has failed to achieve its aims of stanching the flow of weapons to Gaza or weakening Hamas.
A network of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt has ensured that both weapons and commercial goods were arriving in Gaza to be sold at black market prices. Gazans sank deeper into poverty, turning their anger against Israel and not their Hamas rulers.
With reports from The Associated Press
