Israel has allowed the first commercial shipment of clothes and shoes into the Gaza Strip for approximately two years.
Although its policy towards the territory's Hamas rulers has not changed, a Palestinian official earlier said the five truckloads of clothes and five of shoes were the first such shipment since the summer of 2008.
He later clarified that smaller amounts of such items had entered Gaza as part of international aid packages.
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"Today is the first time they have allowed the private sector to bring clothes and shoes into Gaza since August 2008," said Raid Fatuh, the Palestinian Authority border official in charge of coordinating such shipments.
"After the Gaza war in 2009 UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees) and other international organisations brought in aid that included clothes and shoes, but it was a small amount."
'No change in policy': Official
A military official said the shipment was part of a long-standing policy of allowing basic goods into the territory ruled by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and blacklisted as a terrorist group by the West.
"This is a regular shipment that enters every few months. There has been no change in policy," he said on condition of anonymity.
Israel has sealed the territory of 1.5 million people off from all but vital aid since Hamas seized power there in June 2007, tightening sanctions imposed after the 2006 capture of an Israeli soldier.
However, large amounts of clothing, domestic appliances and other basic goods are smuggled in through tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border, and although prices have gone up, there are no shortages of such goods.
The military official said Sunday's shipment was part of a package of goods approved for UN-run projects in the impoverished territory.
"Everything is coordinated with the UN so we are sure who is getting the clothes," he said.
The Israeli official said the approved package would include a rare shipment of cement to be used for a UN waste water project, without specifying the amount or date of the shipment.
Blockade related to captured Israeli soldier
"Israel will not allow the reconstruction of Gaza, which we regard as a terrorist entity because it is controlled by Hamas and the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is still held captive," he said.
Shalit was captured by Hamas and two smaller militant groups in a deadly cross-border raid nearly four years ago. Hamas has said it will only release him in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said during a visit to Gaza last month that Israel had approved the import of construction materials for UN projects to build 150 homes, a flour mill and a sewage treatment plant.
He referred to the projects as a "drop in the bucket," but expressed hope that they could pave the way for further reconstruction.
Blockade prevents basic reconstruction attempts
The closures have prevented virtually any reconstruction following the December 2008 to January 2009 Gaza war, which killed some 1,400 Palestinians and destroyed thousands of homes.
Thirteen Israelis were killed during the offensive, which was aimed at halting years of near-daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Israel has said any construction materials could be hijacked by Hamas and used for underground bunkers and makeshift rockets. Critics of the policy have said militant groups get all the cement they need from the tunnels.
