The FINANCIAL -- GAZA, Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for three days, Palestinian radio reported on November 1.

Palestinian students studying at universities in Egypt and other countries, about 400 patients who have been receiving medical treatment in Egypt and abroad, some 1,500 Palestinians who have got stuck on the Egyptian side of the border crossing will be among those allowed to cross the border.

The last time the border was opened in both ways was September 15. According to the Egyptian Interior Ministry, the number of those wishing to leave the Gaza Strip exceeds 7,000 people.

The Gaza Strip has been subject to an Israeli blockade since the radical Islamic 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.

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