Gaza-Egypt border briefly reopens

EU observers have a presence at the Rafah border crossing

The Rafah border crossing from the Gaza Strip to Egypt has briefly reopened in one direction after being closed for the past seven weeks.

About 1,000 people crossed from Gaza into Egypt, among them students, businesspeople, and those needing medical care.

But the crossing was closed hours again hours later, for security reasons.

The Rafah crossing was closed by Israel in June after Palestinian militants attacked an army post close to Gaza.

Two soldiers died and another was taken captive in that attack, which prompted an ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza that has killed more than 170 Palestinians.

Crowds waiting

The Rafah crossing is Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that bypasses Israeli territory.

An agreement to open the crossing, even for a few hours, was struck by Israeli and Palestinian officials after negotiations brokered by European Union observers at the border.

A spokesman for the EU mission told the BBC that about 4,000 people massed at the border on Thursday hoping to cross into Egypt when the gates were opened.

Among those were students, sick people, businessmen and visitors from other Arab and foreign countries who had been stuck in Gaza because of the closure of the border crossing, says the BBC's Fayed Abu Shamala in Gaza.

The crossing has been opened just once since the militant attack in June, on 18-19 July, to allow Palestinians stranded in Egypt to cross back into the Gaza Strip.