Hundreds arrive from Gaza

Egypt opened its border with Gaza yesterday, letting Palestinians leave the blockaded territory in a move seen as indicating a more supportive policy since February's revolution.

Hundreds of people laden with luggage gathered at the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza before it opened.

Around 300 crossed in the first hours, and officials said they expected up to 1000 to leave Gaza by the end of the day.

Women, children and men over the age of 40 will be permitted free travel from Gaza to Egypt, but men under 40 will be required to apply for and be granted a visa. A large proportion of Gaza's 1.5 million population is aged between 18 and 40.

The crossing will open for eight hours a day, six days a week.

In the four years since Hamas took control of Gaza, and Israel imposed a stringent blockade, the Rafah border has opened intermittently only to students, businessmen and people needing medical treatment.

All other border crossings are with Israel, which has tightly controlled the movement of people and goods.

Despite easing the blockade almost a year ago, Israel continues to proscribe certain goods, such as construction materials, from entering Gaza and blocks nearly all exports. Rafah will not be open to commercial traffic.

Israel's Government has expressed concern that the reopening of the border will lead to the shipment of weapons and militants into Gaza. It is also alarmed at the prospect of closer ties between the new Egyptian Government and Gaza.

"People are happy Rafah is open. They say it's the first step towards breaking the siege of Gaza," said local journalist Hazem Balousha.

"They see it as a result of the Egyptian revolution and reconciliation."

Ghazi Hamed, the Hamas official who oversees the border from the Gaza side, said he hoped that 1000 people would be able to cross each day.

"We will co-operate with the Egyptian brothers to make sure the new arrangements get implemented smoothly and accurately."

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