WASHINGTON, October 14. /TASS/. Egypt and Israel have agreed to open the Rafah border crossing and allow US citizens stuck in the Gaza Strip due to the escalating situation in the Middle East to leave, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing a senior US official accompanying US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his trip to the Middle East.

According to AFP, the US negotiated with Egypt and Israel to open the crossing from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time (coincides with Moscow time).

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

According to the latest official data, more than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 7,700 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and roughly 4,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.