Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Thursday, under the instruction of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, indicating that the border would remain open for the duration of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The border with the Palestinian territory is mostly shut but opens at regular intervals. This would be the longest consistent opening in years.
According to el-Sissi's official Twitter account, the opening of the crossing aimed to "alleviate the burdens of our brothers in Gaza."
On Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was summoned urgently to Cairo, where Egyptian officials severely admonished him over the terrorist group's insistence on instigating violent demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza border, Israel Hayom learned.
At least 120 Palestinians have been killed and thousands have been wounded since the March 30 start of weekly riots at the border, organized by Hamas.
A senior Egyptian official told Israel Hayom that Haniyeh was summoned to Egyptian intelligence service headquarters early Monday afternoon, as the violence was escalating, where General Intelligence Service head Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel leveled scathing criticism at him over Hamas' "riot policy."
Hamas controls Gaza, but not its most important crossings, Rafah with Egypt and Erez with Israel.
Egypt closed the border for long periods after repeated attacks on Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, which increased in 2013, with Egyptian officials blaming Palestinian terrorists from Gaza for some of these attacks.
