Over 560 Palestinians were able to leave Egypt for Gaza on Tuesday through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened for the first time in months, state news agency MENA reported.And then they add:
A source at the crossing said that 564 Palestinians were permitted to pass through the crossing, the only gateway for Gazans to the blockaded strip.
He added that the crossing will remain open through Thursday, operating in one direction only from Egypt to Gaza.
The terminal had been closed since March.
Gaza, with a population of 1.5 million, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.Given that on the average day Israel allows some 800 people to leave Gaza and hundreds more to enter through the Erez crossing, not to mention over 500 truckloads of goods every day into Gaza, it sounds like Egypt is the country that is blockading Gaza, not Israel.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, trying hard not to upset Egypt even more than they already are with the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Hamas, called this a "good move" but not quite good enough, calling for the crossing to be open in both directions.