According to security officials in the area, Egypt on Wednesday reopened the Rafah crossing, bordering the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, to allow humanitarian efforts to pass through and the sick to evacuate. The crossing will be open for two days, Cairo says.

The crossing was the site of a cross-border raid in 2006, during which the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured; who was set to be released in a botched prisoner swap earlier this week. Since the raid, the border has remained primarily closed for fear of a recurrence. Most of the area’s inhabitants rely on foreign humanitarian aid to survive, a situation which has worsened since Hamas took control in 2007, advocates say.

“Palestinian patients who finished their treatment at Egyptian hospitals and other humanitarian cases will be allowed to return back home,” an official statement on Monday by Palestinian embassy official Mohammed Arafat said. He added that those studying outside the Palestinian territories and holding foreign passports will be allowed to cross into Egypt over the two day period.

Periodically throughout the prolonged ‘lockdown’, the crossing has been opened to facilitate the passage of aid workers into the area, which is a crucial part of the way of life.

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