Egypt opens border gate to Gaza Strip for four days
The two officials said today the Rafah crossing point will operate starting tomorrow for four days on a humanitarian basis
Egypt decided to open the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for four days starting from Wednesday, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said in a statement Tuesday.
"The Egyptian authorities decided to open Rafah border crossing for four days, starting from Wednesday and ending on Saturday, for the travel and return of Palestinian citizens in both directions," the statement said.
Some 160 Palestinians, who were stranded in Cairo's airport for nearly two weeks after being denied entry to the Gaza Strip, are being allowed to return to the enclave.
The group was stranded in Cairo airport for 13 days after Egypt suddenly closed the border crossing. Egypt had previously said it would temporarily open the Rafah crossing on February 7 for three days, but closed it two days later, on February 9.
The Palestinian embassy in Cairo confirmed the opening of Gaza's main gateway to the outside world.
Thousands of Gaza residents are on travel lists, most of them medical patients, students and holders of residency permits of other countries. Only a few thousand will make it out in the time allotted.
Egypt has kept Rafah largely sealed off since 2013, after the ouster of Egypt's elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.