Egyptian soldiers guard Rafiah crossing
Egyptian soldiers guard Rafiah crossingReuters

Egypt reopened the Rafiah crossing with Gaza on Saturday several weeks after a terrorist attack left 16 Egyptian security officers dead.

Gaza's ruling Hamas terrorist organization has insisted that its operatives did not take part in the August 5 attack on the Sinai border with Israel.

The crossing, which straddles the border between Egypt and Gaza, generally is the conduit through which some 800 Palestinian Authority Arabs leave the region to do their shopping, access medical care and visit families.

Some also never come back; Rafiah is their ticket out to the world beyond.

It is also an easier way for Gaza terrorists to access the Sinai Peninsula than to make their way through the 1,200 underground tunnels that honeycomb the area beneath the border.

Gaza Interior Ministry spokesman Ehad al-Ghsain told reporters that Egypt “informed us the Rafiah crossing would open all days of the week, without more details.”