El-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — The Egyptian military says commercial truck traffic with Israel has resumed via a border crossing in the Sinai Peninsula that had been shut down amid the insurgency there.

Brig. Gen. Tareq Younis says the first few trucks from Israel crossed over into Egypt on Sunday, and that Egyptian vehicles began bringing goods into Israel earlier this month.

The trade, mostly foodstuffs and raw materials, passes through the el-Auga route, south of Gaza and closer to central Sinai.

Egypt has been battling militants in the area for years, and launched a nationwide operation focused on Sinai in February.

The long-running insurgency intensified in 2013, when the Egyptian military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president, and is now led by an Islamic State affiliate.