Egypt: Gaza truce stipulates opening of crossings

Ceasefire deal reached by Israel and Palestinians allows ‘rapid entry’ of aid and building supplies to the Strip

By AFP 26 August 2014, 8:04 pm

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Egyptian security forces stand guard as an ambulance, carrying a Palestinian who was wounded in an Israeli air strike, crosses the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip on July 12, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/SAID KHATIB)

Egypt said on Tuesday that a Gaza ceasefire that went into force at 1600 GMT, 7 p.m. local time, provides for an immediate opening of Israeli border crossings to aid and reconstruction supplies.

Alongside a comprehensive ceasefire, the two sides agreed to the “simultaneous opening of the border crossings between Israel and Gaza to enable the rapid entry of humanitarian aid and relief and reconstruction supplies” to the Strip, a foreign ministry statement said.

The Egyptian-brokered deal also provides for the immediate extension to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast of the limit imposed by Israel on the territory’s fishermen.

It foresees “continuation of indirect negotiations between the two sides on other matters within one month of the ceasefire taking effect.”