Egypt opens Gaza border crossing for two days

Hundreds of Palestinians exit Strip, which had been sealed since an October 24 attack in the Sinai Peninsula

Egypt temporarily opened its sole border crossing into the Gaza Strip Sunday, a Palestinian border official said.

The official, Maher Abu Sabha, said the Rafah crossing will remain open for two days. Several hundred Palestinians have already crossed into Egypt, AP reported, with more expected to leave the Strip within the next day.

The crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for Gaza’s 1.7 million residents.

Egypt had kept the border closed to Palestinians leaving the territory since an October 24 attack in the Sinai Peninsula that killed 31 Egyptian soldiers.

Last month, Egypt temporarily opened the border to allow Palestinians stranded outside the territory to return home.

Border closures have been common since the Islamic terrorist group Hamas seized the Strip in 2007.

For the most part, Israel keeps its border crossings with Gaza sealed except for humanitarian cases or transfers of emergency goods.