Gaza Exodus in 4th Day as Egypt Fails to Seal Border

Israel has new security concerns over flow of Palestinians into Egypt

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 26, 2008 6:45 AM CST

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Gaza Exodus in 4th Day as Egypt Fails to Seal Border — Palestinians sit on a destroyed section of the border wall in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Egyptian border guards with riot shields formed human chains Friday, trying to hinder the flow of Gazans into Egypt in an apparent attempt to gradually reseal the... (Associated Press)

Thousands of Palestinians continued to flood into Egypt for a fourth day today, despite Egyptian attempts to close the border using water cannons, barbed wire and a human chain of riot police. Hamas bulldozers smashed new holes in the fence, and cars joined the stream of traffic, the BBC reports; cranes have been erected to move supplies into the Strip faster.

The UN estimates that as many as half of Gaza's 1.5 million people have crossed the border in the four days since it was breached by Hamas in protest over the Israeli blocade. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called the situation in Gaza "unacceptable" and called on Israel to "lift its siege" and "solve the problem," the Jerusalem Post reports.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council remained at odds on the issue, with Libya blocking a statement calling for talks. (More Israel stories.)

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