Thousands of Gazans streamed past a flattened border wall into Egypt for a second day, in defiance of an Israeli blockade, to stock up on goods scarce in the Hamas-run terrority. Egyptian riot forces watched from a distance as residents of the coastal strip trooped back into Gaza loaded with purchases.

Palestinian militants set off bombs at the Rafah border town on Wednesday and destroyed the Israeli-built southern border wall, a move which allowed ordinary Palestinians to escape the suffocating conditions inside Gaza.

One Gazan said: “This is a step, which defies the injustice meted out to the Palestinian people. We’d like to thank the Egyptians for daring to allow it.” Israel now says it wants to wash its hands of Gaza altogether by handing over the supply of electricity, water and medicine to others. Israel claims it imposed the blockade to counter militant rocket attacks into its terrority.

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