Ruth Gledhill blog: thank God for the Caterpillar bulldozer

Tens of thousands of Gazans on foot, in cars and even on donkey carts poured into Egypt this morning after Palestinian militants blew up most of the border wall between the two territories.

Around two-thirds of 12-km wall was destroyed in a dramatic pre-dawn protest against the closure of the coastal strip imposed last week by Israel and backed by Egypt.

Jubilant Gazans flooded the Egyptian border town of Rafah, buying cigarettes, plastic bottles of fuel, and other items that have become scarce and expensive because of months of severe restrictions of movement in and out of Gaza.

Hamas, the Islamist group which controls the strip, did not take responsibility for knocking the border wall down but its officials quickly took control of the frontier. Hamas police channelled the crowds through two sections of the border, and inspected some bags, confiscating seven pistols carried by one man returning to Gaza.

Others walked unhindered over the toppled metal plates that once made up the border wall, carrying goats, chickens and crates of Coke. Some brought back televisions and car tires, and one man bought a motorcycle. Vendors sold soft drinks and baked goods to the crowds.

James Hider, Middle East Correspondent of The Times, reported from Gaza that the destruction of the wall had followed a tense protest at the Rafah crossing yesterday when around 1,000 Palestinians, mostly women, tried to push their way through.

"When the explosions went off this morning, the Egyptians realised that they could not stop the tide of humanity," Hider said. "They realised the game was up and stood aside."

Mohammed Abu Ghazel, 29, said he had crossed the border three times since the morning. He bought cigarettes worth 200 shekels (£27) in Egypt and sold them for five times that in Gaza, he said. "This can feed my family for a month," he said.

The destruction of the border continued into the morning. Palestinians driving a Caterpillar bulldozer arrived at a point where the frontier is marked by a low concrete wall topped with barbed wire, tearing down the wall and opening a gap to allow easier access for cars

Egypt has largely kept its border with Gaza closed since the violent Hamas takeover of the territory in June, amid concerns of a spillover of Hamas-style militancy into Egypt.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have orchestrated daily demonstrations on the Gaza-Egypt border, in an apparent attempt to appeal to Arab public opinion and pressure Egypt to open the passage. The chaotic scenes came on the sixth day of a complete closure of Gaza in response to a spike in Gaza rocket attacks on Israeli border towns.

On Tuesday, Israel eased the closure slightly, transferring fuel to restart Gaza’s only power plant, and also sent in some cooking gas, food and medicine. Israel has pledged to continue limited shipments because of concerns that a humanitarian crisis could develop in the already impoverished coastal territory.

However, Gazans are still facing critical shortages of electricity, fuel and other supplies. The territory has been largely cut off from the world since June, when Hamas seized power in Gaza by force.

Among those flooding over the border today was an off-duty Hamas security officer, Abdel Rahman, 29, who said this was his first time out of Gaza. "I can smell the freedom," he said. "We need no border after today."

But Abdel Rahman denied that weapons were being smuggled in from Egypt. "You can buy weapons in Gaza, guns and RPGs," he said, adding that it was easier to find weapons in Gaza than cancer medicine or Coca-Cola.

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