Egypt keeps Rafah crossing into Gaza open for third day

Cairo has decided to keep the only crossing into the Gaza Strip, which is not controlled by Tel Aviv, open for a third day after it was used by nearly 2,000 people.

On Tuesday, Egyptian state news agency, MENA, said over the first two days of the crossing’s opening, 1,137 Palestinians arrived in Egypt, while 813 others entered Gaza.

The Rafah crossing was opened for the second time in two months on December 21, in order to allow Palestinians stranded inside Egypt to enter Gaza.

The crossing was closed after a deadly bombing attack in North Sinai on October 24 left 30 Egyptian soldiers dead.

According to the United Nations, more than 3,500 Palestinians had been stranded in Egypt since the closure.

The UN also said prior to the attack earlier this year, an average of 6,400 people used the crossing each month.

The Israeli regime has imposed a brutal siege on the Palestinian coastal enclave since 2007, when politicians affiliated with the Hamas resistance movement were elected into office and took over the administration of the impoverished territory.

In coordination with the Israeli regime, Egypt has kept its Rafah border crossing mostly shut, only offering occasional relief for medical and other emergency cases.