Israel announced Sunday that it would be closing the Kerem Shalom crossing which it uses to transfer goods into Gaza in response to deliberate rocket fire at the crossing from Gaza."After continuous and intentional rocket fire at the Kerem Shalom Crossing this morning and this afternoon, during which trucks carrying flammable materials to the Gaza Strip were almost hit, we took the exceptional decision to close the crossing in order to protect the lives of workers and traders," the Defense Ministry Land Crossings Authority said in a statement. "The crossing was open throughout Operation Protective Edge despite constant firing in its vicinity and is the sole artery for the passage of vital humanitarian goods and equipment to the residents of the Gaza Strip," the statement added.