Egypt opens border for month of Ramadan
CAIRO — Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the entire Muslim holy month of Ramadan, President Abdel- Fatah el- Sissi announced on Twitter, in what would be the longest uninterrupted opening since 2013.
The move is meant as a humanitarian gesture during the annual holiday, one of the few occasions in which Egypt allows some Gazans stranded by a 2007 EgyptIsrael blockade to leave and return to the territory ruled by the militant Islamic group Hamas.
The announcement late Thursday came just days after Israeli forces shot and killed 59 Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 during mass protests along the Gaza border.
El- Sissi wrote on his official Twitter account that the opening would “alleviate the burdens of the brothers in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday the opening of Rafah was the result of talks with Egyptian officials in a visit to Cairo on Sunday.
On Thursday, 541 people crossed from Egypt into Gaza along with dozens of trucks carrying cement, steel, power engines and medical and food aid from the Red Crescent, the officials said.
Last month, Hamas’ Interior Ministry said more than 20,000 people were on exit waiting lists. Through this week, an average of 500 travelers a day moved through the border, mostly leaving.
On Friday, travelers were slowly moving toward the crossing, a bus arriving about every hour with people whose names appeared on lists provided by Hamas officials, who oversee who goes through the border.
In 2007, Hamas wrested control of Gaza by force, provoking the IsraeliEgyptian blockade that severely restricted the movement of most of Gaza’s 2 million inhabitants.