Many Palestinians have crossed into Egypt for a second straight day, to stock up on food, fuel and household supplies that have been scarce since Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip last week.
Egyptian border guards patrolled access roads to the region Thursday, preventing Palestinians from moving beyond the border area markets.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Israelis not to visit the Sinai Peninsula. He also said those who already are there should leave, out of concern that Gaza militants who crossed the border into Egypt could strike at Israeli tourists.
An Israeli spokesman, Arieh Mekel, says Israel wants to sever ties with Gaza altogether, now that the Palestinians are getting supplies from Egypt. He says Israel expects Egypt to solve the problem. Egypt has rejected that idea.
Israel imposed the blockade in response to Palestinian rocket attacks into southern Israel.
In Geneva today, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling for Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza to improve the humanitarian situation in the territory. The council voted 30-to-one on the resolution, presented by Arab and Muslim countries.
Israel has accused the Islamic militant group, Hamas, of manipulating the humanitarian situation in Gaza to make it appear more dire than it really is. Hamas seized control of Gaza in June of last year.
The U.N. Security Council is meeting today in New York for another round of talks on a statement that would call on Israel to ensure Palestinian access to humanitarian aid in Gaza. The draft also calls for an immediate end to the firing of rockets into Israel.
The president of the Security Council, Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, said 14 of the 15 members have agreed to the language. The only holdout is the United States.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
