GAZA CITY, Palestine
Egyptian authorities on Monday extended the opening of the Rafah crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip for two days, a Palestinian official said.
“Egyptian authorities have informed the Palestinian side that the terminal will remain open for two more days,” Palestinian Authority (PA) border chief Nazmi Mehanna told The Anadolu Agency.
He said the crossing will be operational on Tuesday and Wednesday in both directions.
The Palestinian embassy in Cairo confirmed that the terminal will be opened on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Egyptian authorities had reopened the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday for three days.
According to the Gaza border authority, around 1,096 Palestinians had crossed the Rafah crossing in the first two days.
Egypt has tightened its grip on the border with the blockaded Gaza Strip since 2013, following the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.
The repeated closures of the Rafah crossing, Gaza's only access to the outside world not under Israeli control, have made life even more difficult for Gaza's roughly 1.9 million residents.
