Hundreds stream over Gaza border

Reports say 1,500 people crossed into Gaza on Friday

Hundreds of Palestinian travellers have streamed through the newly reopened border between Gaza and Egypt.

The Israeli army, which controls the frontier, had shut it nearly three weeks ago citing security concerns.

The closure left an estimated 2,000 people stranded, with some forced to camp in insanitary conditions and rely on the Egyptian Red Crescent for food.

There were emotional scenes as the Palestinians crossed the border to meeting their waiting families.

Elsewhere in Gaza, Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian near the Jewish settlement of Morag in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said the its troops opened fire on two men crawling near the fence surrounding the Gush Katif settlement bloc, killing one of them, while the other escaped.

An Israeli military spokesman said troops found an explosive device next to the dead man.

Emotional scenes

BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston reports that soon after the only border crossing point reopened, buses began bringing the Palestinians home to Gaza, where they were embraced by relatives.

By the end of the day, one 1,700 relieved and exhausted travellers had been allowed through the gates at Rafah.

Our correspondent says that as most of those stranded on the Egyptian side of the border had not been able to afford hotels, they had had no choice but to camp for weeks in a terminal building on the Egyptian side.

As the last of their money ran out, they survived on handouts of food aid.

Washing and toilet facilities were extremely limited and people began to fall ill. Hundreds were said to have contracted diarrhoea and there were reports of pregnant women miscarrying.

Hundreds to come

Those who had been camping in the terminal were allowed to pass through first.

But in the days ahead, many hundreds more Palestinian travellers who have been waiting in hotels in Cairo and elsewhere will finally be able to head for home.

The Israelis have controlled the border since they occupied the Gaza Strip nearly 40 years ago.

They said they had decided to shut the Rafah crossing because of fears that Palestinian militants were planning an attack on their facilities.

They offered to open another checkpoint but the Palestinian authorities refused this. They said that under international treaties, Israel had to keep Rafah open.