Egypt's North Sinai governorate has declared a state of emergency to confront possible crisis along the Egypt-Gaza border and at the Rafah crossing, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

Governor of North Sinai Ahmed Abdel Hamid ordered all governmental agencies and services to be standing ready for any emergency, said the report.

The declaration of state of emergency came one day after some 50 Palestinian militants blew part of the border wall on the Egypt- Gaza border and hundreds of Palestinians, who were stranded at the Egyptian side, crossed into the Gaza Strip through the hole.

According to MENA, Egyptian security authorities has intensified security measures along all roads to the Rafah crossing on the border and the entrances and exits of the governorate.

Doctor and nurses were also summoned and local hospitals were provided with more medicines and first-aid medication

The Rafah crossing, sitting on the Egypt-Gaza border, has been shut since Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier during a cross-border raid on June 25.

About 500 Palestinians were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border after European monitors evacuated the Rafah crossing in anticipation of an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza Strip to revenge for the deadly attack which left two Israeli soldiers dead and a third abducted.

The crossing is the only terminal for Palestinians travelling in and out of the Gaza Strip since Israel has shut down other crossings.

Source: Xinhua