Gaza scrambles for supplies as border forced open

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured from Gaza into Egypt's Sinai peninsula, breathing a collective sigh of relief following a half-year of Israeli closure of all Gaza border crossings.

Those returning to Gaza carried everything from food to livestock. Other Gazans were carrying on their shoulders boxes of another precious commodity in besieged Gaza -- cigarettes -- the price of which has at least doubled over the past several months.

"We are bringing cigarettes because its cheaper in Egypt," said one such individual.

The Rafah crossing terminal -- the main point of entry into Gaza from Egypt -- has been permanently closed since June 2007. On 19 September 2007 Israel declared Gaza an "enemy entity" and began imposing an additional series of collective punishment measures against the population, including sharp reductions of imports, ostensibly in reaction to the firing of homemade rockets from Gaza. However, Israeli public figures have repeatedly stated that the intent of the siege is to put pressure on the civilian population and erode popular support of the elected Hamas government which took control of the Strip this summer.

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