CAIRO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A total number of 719 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were allowed on Monday to enter Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.

    The Palestinians holding visas to Egypt and other countries crossed into Egypt's north Sinai earlier in the day, said the report.

    Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the border will also be permitted to return to Gaza, said Hani al-Jabour, a Palestinian diplomat in Cairo.

    Two days ago, 163 injured and sick Palestinians arrived in Egypt through Rafah, the only crossing bypasses Israel, for medical treatment at Egyptian hospitals.

    A Saturday report said the Rafah crossing between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Egypt would be temporarily opened for three days based on a deal between the Islamist group and Cairo.

    The crossing at Rafah had been closed since early February when Egypt resealed the border after Hamas gunmen blasted it open and allowed thousands of Gazans to cross into Sinai Peninsular.