Thousands of Palestinians pour into Egypt

Thousands of Palestinians poured out of Gaza and into Egypt early Wednesday after masked gunmen blew dozens of holes in the wall delineating the border, rushing to buy food, fuel and other supplies that have become scarce in Gaza because of the Zionist regime's blockade.

Egyptian guards took no action as the Gazans crossed the border.

Palestinian Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain warned that the Zionist regime-imposed fuel cutoff would cause a health catastrophe.

"We have the choice to either cut electricity on babies in the maternity ward or heart surgery patients or stop operating rooms," he said.

Four hours after the blackout, five patients died because of the cutoff of electricity in hospitals.

Residents of Gaza City were buying up batteries and candles, as well as basic foods like rice, flour and cooking oil, said grocery store owner Sami Mousa.

Bakeries stopped operating because of the blockade, bakers said, because they had neither power nor flour.