Egypt temporarily re-opens Rafah crossing

Egyptian authorities re-opened the Rafah border crossing on Saturday for three days after a 50-day closure, the website of state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.

A vehicle carrying 50 Palestinians crossed the border with the Gaza Strip at 10 am on Saturday morning, Al-Ahram added.

Hamas official Maher Abu Sabha said that more than 10,000 Palestinian citizens are still waiting to travel between Gaza and Egypt.

Abu Sabha added that more than 6,000 emergency cases are also on the waiting list, and called upon the Egyptian authorities to open the crossing permanently. "Opening the crossing for short periods of time does not solve the problem," he claimed.

The Palestinian official said that the Hamas-controlled government in Gaza handed Egyptian authorities a list of 800 travelers for priority travel.

"We hope they can cross (the border) today," he said. Hundreds of citizens gathered at the border in the hope of getting into Egypt on Saturday.

Citizens allowed to travel are usually those with approval from the Health Ministry, students, expatriates and medical emergency cases.

Egyptian authorities opened the crossing temporarily for three days last week to allow a number of Palestinian pilgrims coming from Gaza.

However the border has otherwise been almost completely closed following a spike in armed attacks on military and police forces in the Sinai Peninsula since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi.