Egyptian authorities have temporarily opened the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip for stranded Palestinians and humanitarian cases, allowing travel for several days ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which will start on May 6.
The crossing opened on Wednesday for four days. It was last opened at the beginning of May, also for four days.
The state-run news agency MENA reported on Monday that the decision was based on instructions from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to ease the suffering of Palestinians over the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to the West Bank town of Ramallah on Wednesday, bearing a seasonal message from Sisi to his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas.
The Rafah crossing is the only exit point for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, estimated at 1.7 million. It’s not under control of Israel.
On 25 October 2014, the crossing was closed after attacks by extremists that killed 33 soldiers at Karm al-Qawadis in North Sinai.
Egypt has since allowed partial openings of the border crossing to allow Palestinians travel to and from Egypt.
Edited translation from MENA
