Egypt exceptionally opens Gaza crossing for 3 days

By Ola Atallah and Hani al-Shaer

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Egyptian authorities on Saturday exceptionally opened the Rafah border crossing with the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip for three days to allow stranded Palestinians to return home.

"The terminal will remain open in one direction for three consecutive days to allow those stranded on the Egyptian side of the border to return,” the Hamas-run crossings authority said in a statement.

This is the first time Egypt opens the border crossing after 55 days of closure, according to Gaza's Interior Ministry.

Since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 military coup, Egypt has kept the border with Gaza mostly sealed.

The long periods of closure at the crossing -- which represents Gaza's only point of access to the outside world not under Israeli control -- have brought the coastal enclave’s nearly 2 million inhabitants to the verge of humanitarian catastrophe.