GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Fatah official and former ambassador to Cairo Nabil Amr visited Gaza on Thursday for the first time since Hamas took over the enclave.

Amr, who resigned as ambassador to Egypt in 2009, arrived via Israel through the Erez crossing. He told Ma'an the visit was not political.

"This is a personal visit. I was invited by the writer Hassan Kashef and a number of journalists and writer friends," Amr said.