Egypt opens Gaza border for month of Ramadan

A woman hands an item to a passenger standing in the window of a bus waiting to cross into Egypt from the Rafah border. (AFP)

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has made a rare decision to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza for a month, allowing Palestinians to cross during the holy period of Ramadan.
The decision to keep the crossing open was taken 鈥渢o alleviate the suffering鈥� of residents in the Palestinian enclave, El-Sisi said on Facebook late Thursday.
The Rafah crossing is Gaza鈥檚 only gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel, but Egypt has largely sealed it in recent years, citing security threats.
It is usually open a few dozen days a year and such an extended period is rare.
El-Sisi鈥檚 announcement comes after some 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border earlier this week, with the victims described by Egypt鈥檚 foreign ministry as 鈥渕artyrs.鈥�
A total of 114 Gazans have been killed in border protests and clashes since March 30, in the run-up to the controversial opening Monday of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
Egypt has relations with both Israel and Gaza rulers Hamas, giving Cairo an instrumental role in easing tensions between the two sides and alleviating the pressure on the enclave鈥檚 two million residents.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya paid a brief visit on Sunday to Egypt, where he met with the director of the country鈥檚 intelligence services Abbas Kamel.