Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has ordered to open the Rafah crossing on the border with Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and open access for those who need medical treatment, MENA Egyptian news agency said.
The decision came after the Israeli military stormed humanitarian aid ships en-route to Gaza, carrying some 10,000 tons of aid to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and 700 human rights activists in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday.
Nine activists are confirmed dead but Arab media reports put the toll at close to 20. Dozens were reported injured. The international community has widely condemned Israel, with Turkey recalling its ambassador.
Egypt and Israel closed their border crossings with the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007. The blockade has led to a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
However, Egypt has refused to open the border fully as long as Islamists have control of the enclave and demands the Palestinian National Authority enforcement agencies and European monitors to return to the crossing as is stipulated by an agreement reached in 2005 between Palestine authorities, Israel and the intermediaries of Egypt and the EU.
CAIRO, June 1 (RIA Novosti)
