[1] Although Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border due to security concerns, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his troops to allow crossings to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, while verifying that the Gazans did not attempt to bring weapons back into Gaza.

On 24 January, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned Israel for the fifteenth time in less than two years, calling the blockade collective punishment.

On 27 January, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip.

[11] U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered a deal with Israel giving the Palestinian National Authority control over the Rafah Border crossing under the remote video observation of European Union and Israeli monitors (q.v.

[4] Beginning in June 2006, a series of battles erupted between Palestinian gunmen and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during 2006 Israel–Gaza conflict, which ended in a truce on 26 November.

[1] The United Nations officials implored Israel to reverse its decision to seal all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence in the region and the lack of crucial supplies for 1.4 million Palestinians was provoking a humanitarian crisis.

[24] On 22 January, gunfire erupted after a group of Hamas demonstrators, mostly women, forced open the door of the Rafah Border crossing and fled into Egypt.

[26] Between 200,000 and 700,000 Palestinians crossed over to Egypt and bought items at shops at the Egyptian half of Rafah and the North Sinai Governorate's capital, Arish.

[27][28] A Palestinian security guard later told The Times of London that militants had been steadily cutting through the base of the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier with oxyacetylene torches for months.

[32] On 25 January, Egyptian security forces blocked almost all illegal entry points along the border with Gaza to try to stem the flow of Palestinians wanting to leave.

[6] The Council released a statement calling on Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza and to open the Strip's borders to allow the entry of food, fuel and medicine.

It asked the international community to ensure that Israel stop its actions in Gaza, which it referred to as "collective punishment of the Palestinian civilians that leads to disastrous humanitarian and environmental consequences."

An official resolution was presented by Syria and Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to the United Nations Security Council but could not be agreed upon.

[6] Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border and launched air strikes against the Gazan half of Rafah overnight on 24 January, killing Mohammed Abu Harb, the commander of Hamas's military there.

[37] Later that day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip.

[38] Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority which controls the West Bank, held talks on 27 January in Jerusalem on the border breach.

[41] An Israeli defense delegation secretly visited Cairo on 28 January and discussed the situation with top Egyptian officials the London-based Asharq Alawsat newspaper reported.

[42] Hamas stated they would accept a return of the EU monitoring mission if it were to reside in Egypt or the Gaza Strip, as opposed to being based in Israel.

[45] Enormous demand for staple products from Gaza caused rampant inflation, as did the Egyptian government's decision to restrict goods coming into the border region in an effort to encourage the Palestinians to go back home.

[5] However, were the border to remain open long term, Gaza's workers and manufacturers who had worked in the more upscale Israeli market before layoffs during the Second Intifada would have trouble competing in Egypt's low-wage economy, according to West Bank economist Nasser Abdel Karim.