The shootout occurred when a group of armed Palestinians tried to cross the border through new breaches in the border wall. Two of the wounded were Egyptian policemen.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of Gaza Strip residents threw stones at Egyptian police and border guards who were trying to stop them from crossing into Egypt. Security forces used tear gas in response, and some 12 Palestinians were later hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
Violence broke out a day after Egyptian security forces had sealed the border wall with metal spikes and barbed wire and reclosed the border completely.
The wall dividing Egypt and the Gaza town of Rafah was damaged by militants in a series of explosions on January 23. Thousands of Gaza residents subsequently used the opportunity to enter Egypt to buy much-needed supplies in defiance of an Israeli embargo on goods and fuel.
Initially, Egyptian authorities allowed Palestinians free access to the Sinai Peninsula to buy food, fuel and other essential items. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave his personal permission for Palestinians to enter the country to prevent Gaza residents from starving as a result of Israel's blockade, imposed after rocket attacks on Israeli towns by militants from Gaza.
