Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, where thousands of Palestinians have been stranded for nearly a month, on Friday, an army spokesman said.

"The terminal will be reopened Friday morning," the spokesman said.

"It has been closed since July 18 following warnings of terrorist attacks, and we have taken the necessary actions to ensure the security of the people who cross as well as the people who operate" the terminal, he said Thursday.

The Israeli army also issued a statement saying it had informed Egypt and the Palestinian Authority of the decision.

A Palestinian security source had earlier confirmed that "the Israelis have informed us that they will reopen it tomorrow".

On the Egyptian side, a border official said the Israelis had pledged to open the crossing to traffic from both sides at 8:30 am (0530 GMT) Friday.

"The terminal will operate for a period of eight hours every day to resolve the crisis of people stuck at the border," he said.

He added that only ordinary travellers would be allowed to pass and not commercial traffic.

Egyptian officials say that some 3,400 Palestinians are now stuck on the border. It was sealed off over security fears that Palestinian militants may be burrowing a tunnel underneath it.

The Palestinians, foreign governments and rights groups have all raised concerns about the worsening conditions on the border where three pregnant women have suffered miscarriages in the last few days.

Reacting to the criticism, the Israeli army said in its statement that it had been "in permanent contact with international humanitarian organizations" during the closure of the border crossing.

It added that the army had offered an alternative crossing point for Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip from Egypt at Nitzana, but that the offer was rejected.

US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said earlier this week that the United States was pressing Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resolve the crisis.

"We are aware (of) the situation and we are deeply concerned about it," he said. "It is a humanitarian problem that disturbs us."

The border was first sealed off on July 10 and has only briefly opened on two occasions since then.