GAZA: Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing on Saturday to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of the Gaza Strip for the first time in three months, in a possible sign of easing tension between Cairo and Gaza’s dominant Hamas movement.
Gaza, a small impoverished coastal enclave, is under blockade by neighboring Israel, and Egypt has kept its Rafah crossing largely shut since Cairo’s president was toppled by the army in 2013.
A Palestinian official said seven trucks with building materials for the private sector entered Gaza on Saturday, the first time since 2007 that Egypt has allowed a commercial shipment via Rafah, which is mainly for passengers and humanitarian aid.
Two weeks ago, Egypt reopened Rafah for three days but only in one direction — for Palestinians stranded outside Gaza to return home. But Saturday’s move, allowing travel in both directions, might signal a cautious improvement in relations between Cairo and Hamas after two years of high tension.
Local residents said an initial bus with passengers had crossed into Egypt and a source at Cairo airport said Palestinians were flying in to set out overland for Gaza.
Border officials said the new opening would last for three days and some Palestinian sources said it could be extended, although there was no immediate Egyptian confirmation about any possible extension.
Egypt opens Rafah crossing into Gaza
Egypt opens Rafah crossing into Gaza
Syria arrests group behind Mezzeh airport attacks, weapons traced to Hezbollah
- Authorities seized a number of drones the group was preparing to use in further operations
DAMASCUS: Syria said on Sunday it had detained a group behind recent rocket attacks on the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus, with investigators tracing the weapons to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The interior ministry said security units arrested all members of the group, which it said had carried out several strikes on the airport in recent months, after surveillance of suspected launch sites in several areas of the capital.
The weapons used in the attacks originated from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of former President Bashar Assad that once had a large military presence across Syria supporting Assad’s army, the ministry said.
Hezbollah denied the allegations and said it had no activity or ties with any group inside Syria. Authorities said they also seized a number of drones the group was preparing to use in further operations.
The ministry said only that the detainees had links to unidentified “foreign entities,” without mentioning Hezbollah or Iran.
Reuters reported in November that Washington was planning to establish a military presence at an air base in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel. The government denied the report.
Security sources say Hezbollah left behind weapons stockpiles, including drones, in parts of Syria after withdrawing its forces following the collapse of Assad’s rule.
