Tens of thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday made a brief escape from the poverty and violence that has engulfed the Gaza Strip, after militants blew up vast sections of the barrier separating the embattled territory from Egypt.

Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts– in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded.