MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian Gaza Strip in the north of the Sinai Peninsula may be opened today, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said with guarded optimism.

"We have reached out to the international community, asking for their [humanitarian] assistance. The problem is the Egyptian border. There was a promise that the gates [of the Rafah crossing] will open today. It may start, but in any case, it will take time," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

On Friday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in the Egyptian city of El-Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, Al-Qahira ai-Ihbariya reported. According to the television channel, "Guterres has arrived in El-Arish. From there he will head to the Rafah checkpoint on the border with the Gaza Strip." The UN secretary general plans to watch the first trucks pass through the Rafah land crossing carrying humanitarian aid to the residents of the Palestinian enclave.