Egypt opens Rafah crossing temporarily to "alleviate suffering."
By ASSOCIATED PRESS AHD JPOST.COM STAFFAid_311(photo credit: AP)Egypt temporarily lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip Tuesday to allow aid into the area, according to an Egyptian official.The move came a day after Israel raided an international flotilla carrying supplies to the Palestinian territory, reportedly killing nine activists.Also on Tuesday, Israel transferred the humanitarian supplies aboard the ships to the Gaza Strip after inspecting the cargo. According to Channel 10, COGAT transferred most of the aid which had been on the ships, with the exception of pills whose expiry dates had passed.RELATED:'Next time we'll use more force'Israeli gov't defends flotilla raid2 terrorists killed on Gaza borderMossad: Israel becoming burden on USThe governor of northern Sinai, Murad Muwafi, said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarakordered the opening of the border crossing to Gaza in the town of Rafah for several days.Muwafi said the opening of the crossing — which Egypt sealed in cooperation with Israel after Gaza was taken over by Hamas militants in 2007 — was an effort to "alleviate the suffering of our Palestinian brothers after the Israeli attack" on the flotilla.Mubarak condemned the raid on Monday, saying Israel acted with excessive force.Egypt also summoned the Israeli ambassador to Cairo for clarifications.
