Egypt to temporarily open Rafah crossing

CAIRO, March 16 (UPI) -- Egypt is planning to open its Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip for a two-day period, an unidentified official says.

The official said for two days this week, the border crossing would be officially opened to allow sick Palestinians in Egypt to cross into the Gaza Strip, the Palestine news agency Wafa said Monday.

During the temporary border opening, all Palestinian students stuck in Egypt would also be allowed to cross.

Wafa, citing the Egyptian state-run MENA news agency, said the Rafah crossing would be open for two days starting Wednesday.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has previously been opened by Egypt as part of regional humanitarian missions.

Otherwise the border crossing, the only Gaza-Egypt crossing that bypasses Israel, has remained closed most of the time since 2006, Wafa said.