Egypt gets behind Gaza plan

Egypt has agreed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' plan to assume control of Gaza's sole crossing with Egypt, excluding Hamas Islamists who rule the territory, Palestinian officials said yesterday.

Abbas has been seeking Egyptian and Israeli support for taking over Gaza's border crossings, including the one at Rafah with Egypt that Hamas blasted open on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have since poured across the border into Egypt to stock up on goods in short supply because of an Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory.