Breaking through

Israel | The breakdown at the Gaza-Egypt border is perhaps more a plea for attention than a quest for survival | Jill Nelson

Abid Katib/Getty Images

Palestinians by the tens of thousands stormed through the blasted border wall into Egypt on Jan. 23 and began a frenzied shopping spree that would wipe out many local retailers during their weeks-long escape from Gaza.

Flour, butter, cigarettes, and cement were among the booty hauled in carts back to Gaza while donkeys, camels, and even motorcycles were frantically hoisted and pulled through the mangled piles of the fallen steel barricade. The scene reflected the isolation and desperation among Gazans since the militant group Hamas took over the coastal strip last June and Israel sealed its borders with the impoverished territory.

It takes a trip to the doorstep of UN headquarters in New York to understand the other side of the story. There, the next day 4,700 red balloons covered the massive stairway at the UN's East River compound, a gesture meant to show world leaders just how many Qassam rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since the country's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.