Five years of full-scale blockade of the Gaza Strip may have finally come to an end in the wee hours of Monday morning,
with Egyptian officials announcing that they are opening the border unilaterally and completely to all Palestinians,
including those stuck in the strip.
The move effectively breaks the land blockade of Gaza.
Officials say that all Palestinians can enter Egypt at will now,
without permits or visas,
and that this will include not only those in Gaza,
but Palestinians entering Egypt by plane from elsewhere
and means a de facto opening of the Gaza border.
Indeed the first travelers entering Egypt without this restriction were seven Palestinians who arrived by plane.
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