Medical officials say Egypt has sent 27 ambulances to the crossing to transfer as many as 200 wounded Palestinians to hospitals in the Sinai Peninsula and other Egyptian cities.
It's the first time Egypt has agreed to open the crossing since the militant Palestinian group Hamas blew up part of the border wall in January, letting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cross over to shop for supplies.
Hamas wants Egypt to reopen the crossing and give the group a role in monitoring it. But Cairo has rejected the demand, calling instead for a return to an earlier agreement giving Israel and the European Union the responsibility.
