Region | Palestinian Territories
Underground supply tunnels serve Gaza Strip
Inside one of hundreds of white tents on a sandy wasteland in the Gaza Strip, a black pipe snakes its way down a 60-foot shaft and through a quarter-mile tunnel under the border with Egypt.
- Bloomberg
- Published: 23:36 December 25, 2008
Gaza: Inside one of hundreds of white tents on a sandy wasteland in the Gaza Strip, a black pipe snakes its way down a 60-foot shaft and through a quarter-mile tunnel under the border with Egypt.
The other end is connected to a diesel tanker on the Egyptian side - a source of smuggled fuel for a market so parched some Palestinian drivers run their cars on oil used to fry falafel.
The beehive of tunnels beneath the tent city has become a vital lifeline for Gaza, giving its 1.4 million residents a way around an Israeli blockade that has choked off supplies of gasoline, fresh meat and consumer goods ranging from washing machines to iPods.
Target
It may also turn into a bombing target for the Israeli air force following the expiration of a six-month ceasefire with the Hamas leaders who rule Gaza, Israeli strategists say.
"There is hardly any economy left in Gaza without the tunnels," said Omar Shaban, an economist who runs a consulting group in Gaza City.
"It is distorted to have an economy that is so completely dependent on the black market, but it's a natural result of the borders being closed."
Ninety per cent of all products entering Gaza each month - as much as $40 million (Dh147 million) worth of contraband - comes through the tunnels from Egypt, Shaban said.
The underground network is also a crucial source of revenue and weapons for the Hamas movement, which charges a one-time digging fee of $2,750 for each tunnel.
Israel tightened restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza after Hamas seized control of the seaside enclave 18 months ago and Palestinians increased rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities.
Hamas and the Iranian-supported Islamic Jihad group are classified as terrorist organisations by Israel, the US and European Union.
Since the cease-fire expired December 19, Palestinians - mainly members of Islamic Jihad - have sent more than 100 rockets and mortar shells into Sderot and other border towns.
About 70 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel since midnight local time yesterday, an army spokesman said.
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