Jerome Sokolovsky

Israel's government says the reopening is in line with the October ceasefire deal with Hamas.

An official briefed on the matter, but not authorized to speak publicly, told NPR it was the result of a phone call on Tuesday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, who wants to see progress on the deal.

Israel says the crossing will be opened only to one-way traffic out of Gaza, but Egypt controls the other side of the border, and its government says in a statement that the crossing will only open if passage is allowed in both directions.

Jerome Sokolovsky, NPR News, Tel Aviv.