Egyptian riot police on Thursday gathered at the Egypt-Gaza border, directing traffic away from the frontier fence smashed by Palestinians. Dozens of Egyptian police with search dogs used batons to beat the bonnets of private cars and pick-up trucks that massed at the border to carry Palestinians further into Egyptian territory.
According to the PA, American and Arab officials said on Wednesday that Egypt had assured the US it would soon reseal its border with the Gaza Strip.
On its part, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Thursday the Gaza border would remain open as long as there continues to be a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, CNN reported. "We are not opening the Rafah crossing just for everybody to cross - we're opening it because it's a very dire humanitarian situation," said ministry spokesman Hassam Zaki.
Earlier it was reported that thousands of Gazans continued to pour into Egypt for a second consecutive day to stock up on supplies. Shelves in stores on the Egyptian side of Rafah and in El-Arish further west have emptied because of the unexpected influx, witnesses said. Egyptian security officials, however, said that Palestinians were not being allowed to travel further south than the border town of El-Arish.
