Army and police forces have continued their intensified military operations in the Sinai Peninsula against extremist elements since the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian authorities partially open on Monday the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip, after being completely closed for the four days of Eid Al-Fitr holiday, Ahram Arabic news site reports.

Army and police forces attempted on Monday to disperse a sit-in held by workers of the Suez Steel Company, who demand the disbursement of delayed payments and the reinstatement of fired colleagues.

A source from the interior ministry told Ahram Online Sunday that no official statement has been issued by the ministry regarding the dispersal of the sit-ins held by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo and Giza.

Army Apache helicopters attacked number of suspected sites used by armed groups in North Sinai on Sunday, killing and injuring 25, a military source said.

Al-Azhar began calling on different political factions and individuals on Saturday, as part of its effort to achieve national reconciliation, following a decision reached on Wednesday, reported state-run MENA.

Spokesman for the Egyptian army Ahmed Ali said Sunday that the armed forces is not giving information on its crackdown on jihadists in Sinai in order to preserve the secrecy of the operation.

The United States State Department said on Friday that the US believes there is still time for diplomacy to bring a peaceful end the political standoff in Egypt.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh stressed on Thursday that his government has never interfered in the domestic affairs of Egypt.

The Egyptian government bears a “special responsibility” to begin the process of reconciliation and ease of tensions in Egypt, said United States Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton in a joint statement.

Unknown gunmen opened fire on Abdel Hamid Selma, a former Shura Council MP and member of the dissolved National Democratic Party, killing him in Al-Arish on Wednesday.

Leaders of an Islamist party allied with ousted president Mohamed Morsi have agreed to meet with Vice President for International Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei, in an attempt to find a way out of the current political deadlock between supporters of Morsi and the new military-backed government.

Egypt's main stock index dipped slightly by 0.18 percent to sit at 5,616 points on Wednesday, after a trading week in the green due to profit-taking by investors.

Shubra Al-Khayma police station prosecution ordered on Tuesday the release of two men accused of gathering children and taking them to sit-ins in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in exchange for a reward.

One man was killed and 46 others injured during Tuesday clashes between Muslim Brotherhood loyalists and local residents in Manshiya, Alexandria, police said.

Feminist studies group Nazra nominated 16 women on Tuesday to join the constitutional committee that will review the suspended constitution.

By Giza's Great Pyramids, souvenir vendors wait restlessly in the shade, watching for the handful of tourists who still make their way down the empty street to the once-bustling landmark.

An official security source has said that the Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah border crossing for four hours Tuesday.

Scotland Yard referred Neil Kingsbury to court after three months of investigations into suspicions that he smuggled Egyptian antiquities and tried to sell them through Christie's auction house.

Aid pledged to Egypt last month by oil-rich Kuwait will be delivered soon, Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hisham Ramez told Turkish news agency Anadolu on Tuesday.

Security forces stationed in Al-Arish, North Sinai, were attacked on Monday by groups of militants wielding automatic weapons, resulting in the death of one soldier and leaving four other soldiers injured.