Sanaa El-Nahhal, the Palestinian woman taking supplies donated by the Maltese to war victims in the Gaza strip, yesterday managed to re-enter Egypt after a two-day ordeal trapped at the Rafah border.

The border has been closed since Hamas came to power about two years ago, save for special circumstances such as to allow humanitarian aid.

So diplomatic intervention was required to convince the Egyptian authorities that she should be allowed back into the country.

Yesterday afternoon, thanks to the intervention of Maltese Ambassador in Egypt Giovanni Miceli, Ms El-Nahhal managed to get the necessary documents to leave.

Her husband Khalid said he was very happy she was going to return safely and that she succeeded in doing what she had set out to do.

"She was lucky. The bombing stopped just before she arrived in Gaza. But I kept worrying, because we didn't know whether it was going to start again. I couldn't tell her not to go. She really wanted to see her family and help out. I'm glad she managed," he said.

Ms El-Nahhal started her journey last Sunday, attempting to transport 60 boxes of medicine, food and clothing, donated by the government and the Maltese, to her war-ravaged homeland.

Most of her family live in the Palestinian part of Rafah, which borders Egypt. Her plan was to meet family members in Egypt who would help her transport the boxes using a truck.

She managed to get through because she has a resident's permit but due to complications at the border she was only allowed to take five of the boxes in with her.

The rest of the boxes will remain in a garage in Egypt until her relatives manage to transport them, while the medical supplies were donated to the Red Crescent Society, to be transferred from Egypt to Gaza.

She returns to Malta tomorrow.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com