Downed Gaza Wall

Guide Note: A section of the border wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt was destroyed on January 23, 2008. The explosion was thought to have been caused by Palestinian militants although Hamas denied any involvement. The destruction of the wall is thought to be a response to the Israeli blockade imposed more than a week before. As many as 30,000 Palestinians crossed the border to Egypt - mainly to the Egyptian town of Rafah - to buy essential supplies denied to them by the Israeli blockade.

Fast Facts:

Most people bought supplies in Egypt then returned to the Gaza Strip
Egyptian police did nothing to stem the flow of shoppers - in contrast to the previous day

Also try: Gaza Strip

The Mahalo Top 7

Christian Science Monitor: Hamas gains edge as border crisis eases (January 28, 2008)
- - "His hand, however, was all but forced when, earlier Sunday, Israel's High Court of Justice ruled that, effective immediately, the fuel supply to the Gaza Strip must be restored. The decision was forced by the appeals of two Israeli human rights groups. The groups said that even the court's ruling to supply 2.2 million liters of fuel per week was a figure that still falls short of what Gazans need."
The New York Times: "Tensions Grow at Egypt-Gaza Border" (January 26, 2008)
- - Egyptian minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit: "The Egyptian decision has been to allow in the sons of Gaza to ease their suffering. This was the Egyptian decision taken a few days ago and we are still holding to it." The statement is interpreted as a rebuke to Hamas.
Times Online: Hamas 'spent months cutting through Gaza wall in secret operation' (January 23, 2008)
- " [Hamas] was responsible and had been involved for months in slicing through the heavy metal wall using oxy-acetylene cutting torches...That meant that when the explosive charges were set off in 17 different locations after midnight last night the 40ft wall came tumbling down..."
Financial Times: Palestinians break through Egypt border (January 23, 2008)
- "Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts - in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded."
Haaretz: Hamas: Border must be controlled exclusively by Palestinians, Egypt (January 23, 2008)
The Washington Times: Fuel shortage forces hard choices (January 22, 2008)
YouTube: Palestinians break out from Gaza seige

Downed Gaza Wall News

Google News: Downed Gaza Wall
The Age: And the wall came tumbling down (January 24, 2008)
BBC News: Eyewitness: Gazans surge across border (January 23, 2008)
- "Palestnian militants blew up parts of the border wall between Gaza and Egypt yesterday [January 23, 2008] allowing tens of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt to stock up on food and fuel, which are in short supply in the Gaza Strip because of an Israeli blockade."
Canada.com: Emergency supplies trickle into Gaza from Israel (January 22, 2008)
Financial Times: Palestinians break through Egypt border (January 23, 2008)
- "Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts - in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded."
Jerusalem Post: Hamas ready to cede border control (January 23, 2008)
VOA News: Gazans Pour Into Egypt After Border Fence Breached (January 23, 2008)

Downed Gaza Wall Photos and Media

YouTube: Gaza Border Wall Breached; 50,000 Flee for Egypt (Time 1:29)
BBC News: In pictures: Gaza border break (January 23, 2008)

Downed Gaza Wall - Background

New York Times: Israel Resumes Fuel Shipments to Gaza (January 23, 2008)
Haaretz: Some 200,000 Gazans stream into Egypt as militants blast border wall (January 23, 2008)
Guardian Unlimited: This brutal siege of Gaza can only breed violence (January 23, 2008)
Reuters: U.N. says Gaza faces disaster without more aid (January 22, 2008)
TIME: Gaza Crisis Complicates Peace Efforts (January 22, 2008)
Washington Post: Israel Briefly Eases Grip on Gaza (January 23, 2008)
Radio Netherlands: Power cuts bring hardship to Gaza (January 22, 2008)
Al Jazeera: Angry Gazans Storm Rafah Crossing (January 22, 2008)
Los Angeles Times: Gaza dark amid Israeli blockade (January 21, 2008)
Christian Science Monitor: New blockade squeezes Gaza residents (January 22, 2008)

Downed Gaza Wall Blogs and Commentaries

Google Blog Search: Downed Gaza Wall
Guardian Unlimited: This brutal siege of Gaza can only breed violence (January 23, 2008)
Los Angeles Times: Gaza dark amid Israeli blockade (January 21, 2008)
Finanacial Times: Middle East: Region would prefer jaw, jaw to war, war (January 23, 2008)