The Egyptian authorities have decided on Friday to open the Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip for four days to facilitate the access of pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia, state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

Upon instructions of the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the authorities have decided to open Rafah crossing starting from Saturday for 3,000 Palestinian pilgrims, the report added.

The pilgrims will be transferred to Cairo International Airport in route to Saudi Arabia for performing the pilgrimage.

Controlled by Egypt, the Rafah crossing is currently the only link between the Gaza Strip and the outside world, since another two crossings are controlled by Israel.

The seaside enclave has been besieged by Israel since 2007, after Islamic Hamas movement routed forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority and seized control of the territory by force.