RAFAH, EGYPT — Egyptian police stepped up their presence along the breached border of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, amid indications that the government would soon close it. But Palestinians by the tens of thousands continued to flow across in a mass, joyous shopping binge given urgency by months of isolation.
With estimates of the cross-border surge ranging from just over 100,000 people to as many as 500,000 -- one-third of Gaza's population -- the border break presented Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with a short-term opportunity to be seen as a benefactor of the Palestinians. But over the longer term, the situation was rife with challenge for Mubarak, who is trying to suppress Islamic militants in his own country who could be emboldened by the Gaza spillover.
Despite criticism from Israeli and U.S. officials, Egypt had yet to begin resealing the border, but the presence of baton-wielding police officers was greater than the previous day and security forces moved to ensure that Palestinians did not wander beyond coastal El Arish, about 25 miles southwest of Rafah. Egyptian officials intimated that the border would not remain open much longer, and analysts suggested that Egypt might move to secure it within several days.
The Bush administration was moving to end the miles-long processions of trucks, taxis and donkey carts streaming beyond the toppled Rafah wall. Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns told reporters that Washington was in contact with Cairo and was prepared to assist Egypt in bringing stability to the Sinai.
"Our view is that order should be restored to the border," Burns told reporters in Jerusalem, adding that services should be quickly restored to Gaza, which has been without fuel and other supplies because of an Israeli blockade.
In Washington, a State Department official said the administration was urging Cairo to act, and had spoken to Egyptian officials, including Mubarak.
"There are already indications that the Egyptians are moving to control" the crossing, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mubarak, speaking in Cairo, said Egypt would keep "supporting the Palestinians and we won't let them starve in Gaza."
"We exert the maximum effort to end the suffering of the Palestinians and to put an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he said.
