Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip in both directions from Saturday till Tuesday, the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo said in a statement. The Palestinian Embassy praised Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the country's security apparatus for their efforts to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Rafah border crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in the Israeli-besieged Gaza, and is the only crossing point not controlled by Israel. The Egyptian government opens the Rafah crossing periodically for humanitarian purposes. Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007.