Palestinians breach wall, flood into Egypt

GAZA, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Thousands of Palestinians scrambled into Egypt Wednesday after masked men blew holes in a Gaza Strip border fence.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Egyptian and Palestinian border guards did not try to stop the mass exodus at the Rafah terminal. Witnesses told the newspaper that while some of the gashes in the fence were later closed by Palestinian security personnel, two of the breaches remained open. That allowed people to enter Egypt, buy food, fuel and other items, then return to the strip, the Times reported.

The storming of the fence came a day after hundreds of women crashed a gate at the same spot to protest Egypt's complicity with Israeli sanctions. That incident turned violent, with 35 people being injured.

Israel placed Gaza under blockade Thursday after Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel surged.