CAIRO, October 16, 2017 (WAFA) – Egypt announced on Sunday that it has decided to postpone the opening of Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip until further notice following a deadly assault by insurgent groups in the Sinai that left six Egyptian soldiers dead.

Egypt had earlier announced it will open the border crossing exceptionally for four days starting Monday to allow movement in and out for "humanitarian" cases in the Gaza Strip.

An Egyptian army spokesperson said following the deadly assault that army forces carried out a counter assault and killed 24 insurgents.

The Rafah border, the only gate for Gaza to the outside world besides its crossing to the north with Israel, is shutdown most of the year and opens for few days every two or three months. Egypt cites problems with armed groups in Sinai as the reason for keeping the border with Gaza closed.

It is expected that the border may remain open all the time after the Palestinian Authority (PA) takes control of it following the signing of the reconciliation agreement with Hamas last week. A ranking PA delegation composed of the chief border authority is expected in Gaza later Monday to discuss control over the Rafah and other border crossings.

M.N./M.K.