As many as 561 travelers crossed the Egypt-Gaza Rafah crossing on Wednesday on both directions. Crossing into the Gaza Strip were 273 persons, while 287 coming from the besieged enclave were allowed into Egypt. The crossing terminal was reopened by Egyptian authorities on Tuesday for three days after almost ten-day closure. The Rafah crossing is the principal connection between Gaza's 1.8 million residents and the outside world since Israel slapped a crippling siege on the enclave in 2006.