Palestinians wait for travel permits to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on August 27, 2017 AFP
Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Sunday, allowing passage in both directions for two days ahead of the Eid Al-Adha celebrations, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
This is the second time the crossing has opened in less than a month, with a previous two-day period in mid-August.
Eid Al-Adha -- or the Grand Feast -- lasts for four days and is one of the two most important religious holidays observed by Muslims worldwide. This year, it falls between 31 August and 4 September.
The Eid honours the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his first-born son Ismail as an act of submission to God’s command.
The Gaza border crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in Israeli-besieged Gaza, being the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.
Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.
Egypt has kept the border largely closed due to security concerns following the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi almost four years ago.
The border openings in recent months come amid signs of improving ties between Cairo and Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza.
A senior Hamas delegation visited Cairo in late January. Hamas leader Mahmoud El-Zahar said at the time that Palestinian and Egyptian officials had reached a border-control agreement.
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