The main border crossing between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Egypt was temporarily opened on Saturday under a deal between the Islamist group and Cairo, Palestinian officials said.
With U.S. backing, Egypt has been trying to broker an unofficial truce between Israel and Hamas to stop violence that has imperiled peace talks. The proposed deal calls for Rafah to reopen under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' control.
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Saturday's opening would allow Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israel, and other medical cases, to leave Gaza for treatment, Hamas officials said.
They said the crossing would remain open for two further days, in which Gazans stranded in the Egyptian Sinai since the January border breach would be allowed to return. Palestinians with other nationalities would also have the option of leaving.
On the Egypt side of the Rafah terminal an anxious Palestinian doctor,
Mohammed al-Taweel, who works in Saudi Arabia, said he hopes he can cross to Gaza to see his seven children.
"I have been waiting for the terminal opening for a month and five days,"
al-Taweel said. "The problem is if I managed to cross, I am not sure I can return."
On Friday, Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshal urged Egypt to open Rafah
crossing if Israel rejected its truce proposal, Hamas and other militant
Palestinian factions endorsed the proposal in principle in late April.
Speaking in Damascus, Meshal said that Egypt should open the terminal even if Israel rejects the truce.
"If Israel rejects this Egyptian effort," Mashaal said, "I demand Egypt and Arab countries to immediately take the unilateral initiative to lift the siege and open the Rafah crossing. No Arab has an excuse not to do that," he said, vowing to take creative measures.
Under a U.S.-brokered deal, European Union monitors had been stationed at Rafah until Hamas Islamists took control of Gaza last June after routing Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.
A European diplomatic source said earlier this week that EU would not be at the crossing during its temporary reopening.
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