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A spokeswoman for the Israeli Defense Ministry branch that operates the border crossings with Gaza said the Erez Crossing was closed in response to “violent protests” that took place Friday. Exceptions will be made for humanitarian cases

Thousands of people gathered along the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel, with some hurling firebombs and improvised explosive devices, Israel’s military said Friday. Its military forces responded with riot-dispersal measures as well as live fire, which Gaza’s Ministry of Health said killed two people.

The United Nations and Egypt are mediating a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Gaza ruler Hamas after a spate of violent clashes at the border and intense fighting between the two sides in recent months. Israel last week reopened the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel as those talks progressed.

The crossing in northern Gaza usually sees relatively little traffic but its closure comes as the region breaks for a Muslim religious holiday—Eid al-Adha—when people often use it to travel outside through Israel. The flow of people between the blockaded Gaza Strip and the West Bank also increases during the holiday period.

The closing of the Erez Crossing appears to be a move to pressure Hamas in the peace negotiations. But it also could stoke further tension if the border isn’t reopened by the start of the Eid al-Adha break on Tuesday, especially after Egypt announced last week that it would close its only pedestrian crossing with Gaza from Monday through Saturday due to the holiday.

The Israeli Defense Ministry spokeswoman couldn’t say if the border crossing would be open again by then.

It isn’t clear if this will have any impact on the peace talks.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel wants “a complete cease-fire” and won’t accept less, while its defense minister said that a long-term peace agreement would only be possible if Hamas and Israel first reach an understanding about Israeli citizens held in Gaza, as well as the bodies of fallen soldiers that are there.

On Saturday, Hamas spokesperson Husam Bardan characterized the Egyptian-backed negotiations with Israel as serious, and said talks would continue following the Muslim holiday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, which largely controls Palestinian areas in the West Bank, isn’t involved in the Egyptian-backed talks between Hamas and Israel. Mr. Abbas on Thursday said he opposes any truce between Hamas and Israel that doesn’t see international aid to Gaza managed by the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007, and Fatah also are locked in Egyptian-backed negotiations to form a unity government, but each side has accused the other of not being serious about reconciliation.

Palestinians have been demonstrating at the border fence since March calling for the right to return to homes in what is now Israel. The protests peaked in May, coinciding with the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem, when 40,000 people gathered at the fence, with some burning tires, attempting to breach the fence and hurling other incendiary devices. Since then the gatherings have drawn fewer people, but demonstrations have continued. Israel has responded with live fire, which it defends as necessary to protect its border.

Since March, more than 160 Palestinians have died in clashes with Israel’s military and thousands have been injured. An Israeli soldier was also killed during one of several heated exchanges of fire between Israel and Hamas over the summer, and several Israeli civilians have also been injured by rocket fire. Israel and Hamas reached a fragile calm in recent weeks after Hamas launched some 200 rockets and mortars and Israel responded with waves of airstrikes.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in a report outlined possible options for international protection of Gazans, including sending armed U.N. peacekeepers and unarmed observers to the Gaza-Israel border.

In the month of July, around 12,000 Gazans entered Israel through the Erez crossing, including for humanitarian cases, for business, to get to the West Bank or to be able to travel abroad by going directly to Jordan.