A wall between the Gaza strip and Egypt, built in 1967 as part of a peace accord between Egypt and Israel, was knocked down by explosives in the early hours of the morning today. By the end of the day BBC reported that 10,000 people took advantage of this sudden access to medical care, food and other staples in Egypt; Israel’s 5-day blockade of Gaza left people suffering for want of food, fuel, and medicine.

However, a user at the Bulletin Board Progressive Independent said that 300,000 people visited Egypt today. For a sense of scale, that’s about the same number of people who protested the New York City RNC conference in 2004.

Downing the wall allowed people to cross the border on foot; Egyptian guards, overwhelmed by the crowds, simply let people pass unfettered.

Today too Israel eased its blockade on the Gaza strip allowing diesel fuel into Palestine to fuel power stations. Palestinians had been without power for two days after fuel supplies ran out.

In Rafah, the border crossing re-opened, making it possible to drive into Egypt. Israel has had control of this particular crossing since 1967 and is still monitoring it from a distance.

The open border crossing allowed hundreds of Palestinian pilgrims, stranded in Egypt for weeks to be reunited with families. They had been barred from returning to Palestine through Rafah, with Israel insisting that the pilgrims return to Gaza via Israeli checkpoints, where they and their possessions could be searched for contraband.

There were no reports of violence.

Mohammed Omer reports on the event for BBC Radio’s World Update. Mohammed Omer also writes the blog Rafah Today.