Rafah crossing to operate 4 hours daily

Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah crossing on the border with Gaza for four hours daily from Saturday, an official said. Sami Mitwalli, director of the Egyptian side of the terminal, said the crossing would open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mitwalli told Ma'an that around 150 Palestinians were waiting on the Egyptian side of the border to return to the Gaza Strip, and several buses of passengers were waiting in Gaza to enter Egypt. Egypt announced it was closing the Rafah crossing "indefinitely" on Aug. 15 for security reasons after deadly violence nationwide. The crossing is the only way most Palestinians in Gaza can enter or leave the territory. Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on the enclave, and its border is closed to Palestinians. Egypt partially reopened the crossing on Aug. 17 for international travelers with foreign passports and humanitarian cases, but shut down the terminal on Monday after a deadly attack nearby that killed 25 soldiers.