CAIRO, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Monday, beginning a three-day break in the Palestinian enclave's isolation, the MENA news agency reported.

Holders of foreign passports and Palestinians with residence permits for Egypt or other countries, including foreign student visas, are allowed to leave. The Egyptian authorities will also admit Palestinians who need medical treatment or have some other humanitarian grounds for leaving the enclave.

Extra border guards have been sent to Rafah to deal with the large numbers of Palestinians expected to seek passage to Egypt. Medical experts will be on hand to examine people wishing to travel to Egyptian hospitals.

The Gaza Strip has remained under an Israeli blockade since the radical Islamist Hamas group came to power more than two years ago. Its 1.5 million residents suffer from severe shortages of medicine, food and fuel.

The Egyptian authorities occasionally open the country's border for certain categories of Palestinians and foreigners. Forty-four Russian citizens were allowed to leave Gaza two weeks ago due to the efforts of Russian diplomats in Egypt.