( dpa )- Hamas could be taking advantage of the breaches along the border with Egypt to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, the US State Department said Thursday.
The United States has been consulting with Egyptian officials to help ensure the border remains secure and the Palestinian militant group is unable to bring weapons into the territory, deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
" Hamas is trying to take advantage of this incident to use it not only to let individual Gazans try and purchase consumer goods on the other side of the border, but potentially to smuggle in arms and other materials to support their fighters," Casey said.
Holes were blown in the walls separating Gazan and Egyptian soil on Wednesday, and hundreds of thousands of people streamed into Egypt seeking supplies that were cut off because of the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Israel enacted the blockade to retaliate for rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza allegedly carried out by Hamas .