The director of border crossings in the Gaza Strip expects the Rafah crossing to reopen by the end of the week, according to a statement reported by China's state-run news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.
"There is constant dialogue between the Egyptian authorities and Hamas government in Gaza to re-open the Rafah crossing as soon as possible," Maher Abu Sabaha was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the closure of the Rafah crossing following an attack by unidentified militants which killed 16 Egyptian border guards in North Sinai the night before.
Sabaha pointed to a growing number of Palestinians now waiting to re-enter Gaza, many of them pilgrims returning from visits to Saudi Arabia's holy cities.
Egyptian authorities have reportedly begun to destroy tunnels between Gaza and Rafah that were previously used to illegally transfer food supplies and other goods.
Israel re-opened its only commercial crossing with Gaza on Tuesday.
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