Egypt makes early Rafah reopening due to Israeli air strikes in Gaza

Cairo: Egypt has reopened the border Rafah crossing a day earlier than scheduled to allow the entry of the Palestinians injured in an ongoing Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza Strip amid efforts to stop violence.

The border had been closed for the Eid Al Fitr holiday that started Wednesday in Egypt and was due to reopen on Monday.

Egyptian authorities decided to open the crossing “exceptionally” on Sunday in a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinians against the ongoing Israeli attacks to allow for transfer of the injured people and their treatment at Egyptian hospitals in Egypt, Egyptian media reported.

The reopening is in one direction from the enclave into Egypt to allow entry of stranded travellers, they added.

At least 181 people, including 52 children, were killed and 1,225 injured in the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, according to the enclave’s health authorities. Israel has reported 10 dead.

Egypt has so far sent 16 ambulances into Gaza to pick up casualties of Israeli bombardments for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, Reuters quoted a medical source as saying.

The source added that a bus with 95 people on board had arrived from Gaza Sunday morning.

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has launched contacts with Tel Aviv and the Palestinians to arrange a ceasefire in the Gaza violence, the worst between the two sides in years.