CAIRO, October 17. /TASS/. At least 560 American nationals are staying near the Rafah checkpoint on Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, the Sada al-Balad television channel said on Monday.

According to the TV channel, around 560 Americans are waiting for a permit for entering Egypt near the Rafah checkpoint on the Palestinian side.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said earlier that Cairo was ready to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah checkpoint but Israel had taken no measures to open the checkpoint on the Palestinian side. "We are focused on the reaching a ceasefire and opening humanitarian corridors," he said.

The Al Arabiya television channel said earlier that a temporary ceasefire is to come into effect from 9:00 a.m. local time in the Gaza Strip’s southern areas to ensure safe delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave and evacuation of civilians. However, both Israel and the Hamas movement have refuted reports about the ceasefire and the opening of a checkpoint.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed and around 10,900 others injured. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.