Egypt opened the Rafah land crossing with the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, in a move that will last for three consecutive days.
In a press statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior announced that the crossing would open under strict precautionary measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Travel through the crossing will be allowed for patients requiring medical treatment, students, holders of foreign and Egyptian passports, and residents, subject to their having undertaken coronavirus tests.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that it has prepared quarantine centres for travellers returning to the Gaza Strip, and imposed a one week quarantine period for returnees.
This is the fourth time that the Rafah crossing, the Gaza Strip’s only land port, has been opened exceptionally since March, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Palestinian territories.
The crossing was shut down as part of the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus to the coastal Palestinian enclave.
On 13 April, Egypt reopened the crossing for four days to allow the return of Palestinians stranded in Egypt.
Controlled by Egypt, the Rafah crossing is currently the only link between the Gaza Strip and the outside world, as the territory’s two other crossings are tightly controlled by Israel.
