Egyptian police hold 21 Islamists after Gaza rally

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police detained 21 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood after a rally in protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza, the group and security officials said on Sunday.

The Brotherhood, the strongest opposition group in the country, said most of the men were rounded up before dawn in the coastal city of Alexandria.

One security official said the detentions were made in response to the Gaza protests and because of suspicion of membership of an illegal organization.

Those detained include members of the provincial leadership of the Brotherhood, which has historical and ideological ties with Hamas, the Islamist group ruling Gaza.

The government says the Brotherhood is outlawed but allows it to operate relatively openly.

The Egyptian government and security agencies have been eager to suppress protests against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, in which protesters frequently condemn the government for what they see as its complicity in the blockade of the coastal strip.

In recent days protesters have called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Cairo, and for Egypt to open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to allow Palestinians to flee the 16-day onslaught which has killed 869 people.

More than 100 injured Palestinians have been allowed into Egypt since the offensive began.

(Writing by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Charles Dick)