CAIRO, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - Around 720 Palestinians have been allowed to cross into Egypt from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, the MENA news agency said on Monday.

Egyptian authorities opened the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Sunday for three days to allow Palestinians to enter Egypt for medical treatment, with priority being given to the elderly and heart and cancer patients.

The radical Islamic group Hamas, which seized control of the enclave last June, has repeatedly demanded that the frontier with Egypt be opened to ease the crippling effects of a series of economic blockades imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

Under international agreements, the opening of Rafah can only be sanctioned by Israel with the participation of European Union observers.

Thousands of Gaza residents flooded into Egypt to buy food, fuel, and essential supplies when Palestinian militants blew up sections of the wall at the Rafah crossing in January.