Egypt reopens Gaza crossing
The crossing, which is the only access point to the
Palestinian territory not controlled by Israel , will open for four hours on
Wednesday and Thursday, a government official said.
"The crossing is being opened for two days to help
traffic mainly from
An AFP correspondent on the Palestinian side confirmed the
terminal had been opened but said he saw nobody crossing into southern Gaza during the first
hour it was operating.
It was not immediately clear whether Palestinians stranded
outside Gaza had been informed in advance of Cairo 's plans to reopen
the crossing.
Palestinian officials said the terminal was operating in
only one direction -- allowing people in but not out.
"This measure only applies to those who are stuck
outside of Gaza and wish to return and not to
Palestinians who want to leave Gaza ,"
Maher Abu Sabha, director of border crossings in the Gaza Strip, told AFP.
The United Nations says more than 3,500 Palestinians have
been stranded on the Egyptian side since the crossing was closed after a
suicide attack killed 30 soldiers in North Sinai on October 24.
The attack, in an agricultural area northwest of provincial
capital El-Arish, was the deadliest assault on Egyptian security forces since
the army deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The closure of the crossing has also prevented thousands of
Gazans from accessing medical treatment or higher education in Egypt and
beyond, the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
said in its latest report.
During the first six months of the year, when the crossing
was closed for a total of 22 days, an average of 6,400 people crossed each
month, it added.
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