Some 200,000 Palestinians pour into Egypt to purchase food, fuel, and other supplies made scarce by Israel’s blockade
January 23, 2008 6:05 pm Gaza under HamasHamas takes control at frontier as 200,000 Gazans enter Egypt - Haaretz, January 23, 2008
Some 200,000 Palestinians poured out of Gaza and into Egypt early Wednesday, after masked gunmen blew dozens of holes in the wall delineating the border.
The Gazans rushed to purchase food, fuel, and other supplies made scarce by Israel’s blockade of the Strip, after militants detonated 17 bombs in the early morning hours, destroying some two-thirds of the metal wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Hamas did not take responsibility for knocking the border wall down, but Hamas militants quickly took control of the frontier, as Egyptian border guards took no action.
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Israel said in response to the chaos that it expects Egypt to solve the crisis.
The destruction of the border continued later Wednesday morning. Palestinians driving a Caterpillar bulldozer arrived at a point where the frontier is marked by a low concrete wall topped with barbed wire, tearing down the wall and opening a gap to allow easier access for cars.
Earlier Wednesday, the United Nations estimated the number of Gazans who had crossed into Egypt at 350,000.