Gaza supply tunnels rebuilt by Palestinians after Egypt's army destroyed them

Home Top

The moment an Israeli driver paid with his life for attacking Palestinian's truck with a club when he was run over and killed
EXCLUSIVE: 'I am a prince and I do what I want.' Cocaine-crazed Saudi royal 'threatened to kill Los Angeles mansion staff who watched him being pleasured by male aide'
Now Joe Biden says he was in favor of Osama bin Laden raid - even though he previously said he had advised president against it
What's YOUR risk of serious disease? New quiz reveals your likelihood of cancer, diabetes, heart or bowel problems - based on you diet, exercise and family history...
'I just don't like the guy': George W. Bush unloads on Ted Cruz at private fundraiser for Jeb because he's chummy with Trump
Kate's a lady in red! Dazzling Duchess wears Queen Mother's tiara as British royals roll out red carpet for Chinese president
State Department and Benghazi committee accidentally release CIA source's name in Hillary Clinton email - who turns out to be suspected mastermind behind the 1988 Lockerbie bombing
ISIS butchers 'most probably' used MUSTARD GAS against the Iraqi Kurds it emerges as the terror group begins conscripting boys aged 14
Are YOU ready for El Niño? California warns residents to prepare as Nasa reveals new animation of 'Godzilla' phenomenon forming
The things you didn't know you could ask for on a plane (and what you definitely shouldn't request)
Man who bit fellow passenger and dropped dead on Aer Lingus flight was 'Brazilian drugs mule with $60,000 of cocaine in his stomach'
Could an overactive immune system predict schizophrenia? Study finds a link between brain inflammation and risk of the disease
SeaWorld killer whale is 'too depressed to feed her calf' at San Diego amusement park
Are scientists about to discover a parallel universe? Large Hadron Collider to be powered up for incredible experiment
'Clock Kid' Ahmed Mohamed holds press conference after getting a hug from President Obama and says he's 'glad' he was arrested
PIERS MORGAN: The Force Awakens? Sorry, but Star Wars has sucked for 40 overrated, overhyped, preposterous years
Twitter trolls call for boycott of new Star Wars film because it is 'anti-white' and 'alienates core audience of young white males' using #BoycottStarWarsVII
Final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens revealed on Monday Night Football as websites for tickets crash due to high demand
Women at risk of breast cancer should be screened every YEAR from the age of 45, says the American Cancer Society
IVF and a link to ovarian cancer: Women who need fertility treatment are a third more likely to develop the disease, reveals major UK study
The ultimate put-down! Man rejects his cheating ex-girlfriend's pleas to reconcile - before putting an end to her text message rant by correcting her grammar
Jim Webb drops Democratic bid for president as he mulls an independent campaign instead
ICE boss 'coerced employees into attending sex parties at his home that took place while his children watched TV in the next room'
Former escort who claims she was paid $10,000 to arrange sex parties for Louisville basketball says Rick Pitino MUST have known

Palestinians rebuilding tunnels between Gaza and Egypt destroyed by military last summer
Egyptian security forces moved in on the tunnel network after the ousting of Mohamed Morsi last year
The tunnels have been used to smuggle everything from fuel and weapons to KFC bargain buckets into Gaza

Published: 15:02 EST, 27 February 2014 | Updated: 06:25 EST, 28 February 2014

View
comments

A group of Palestinian workers rebuild a tunnel linking the occupied Gaza strip with Egypt after it was destroyed by the latter's army during a military operation.

More than 1,000 tunnels originally linked the Gaza strip with Egypt, but a majority were destroyed last summer when the Egyptian army conducted several demolition raids following the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in July.

Egyptian security authorities say they have closed more tunnels because of militant attacks on Egyptian security forces in the lawless Sinai Peninsula - an allegation the Palestinian movement denies.

Scroll down for video

From underneath the ground: A group of workers rebuild a tunnel linking Gaza with Egypt which was deliberately collapsed by the Egyptian army during an military operation to destroy the network of smuggling tunnels

Going down the hole: The tunnels have been used to transport everything from weapons to KFC chicken buckets into Gaza from Egypt

Rebuilding: The was allegedly a network of nearly 1,000 tunnels linking Egypt and occupied Gaza, but the Egyptian army conducted several major attacks on the underground connections, destroying them

By August, only a few hundred remained according to Palestinian tunnel operators.

Egyptian security forces moved in with bulldozers and dynamite to demolish the network of tunnels which are used to transfer everything from cheap fuel to weapons and commercial goods such as KFC chicken buckets into the Palestinian territory.

Ashraf, 29, a tunnel owner, said: ‘We are working to fix the tunnel quietly away from Egyptian eyes. There are six workers in the morning and another six continue to work at night under the border with Egypt.

‘They pull out the sand and mud that filled the tunnel using plastic containers pulled out by a machine.’

He says the work is dangerous and that the tunnels can collapse at any moment.

Drilling work: Palestinian tunnel workers take a break on ground level inside a tent govering the entrance to the destroyed smuggling tunnel

Getting back again: The exterior of a destroyed tunnel seen on February 26 in Gaza, Palestinian Territory

Heigh ho: The tunnels are sponsored by the Hamas-run government that seized control over the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seven years ago

The workers are attempting to rebuild the tunnels without being detected by Egyptian authorities, a dangerous job where the roof of the unstable tunnels can collapse at any minute

The tunnels are sponsored by the Hamas-run government that seized control over the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

They are used to bring fuel, gas, goods, building materials and medicine into the impoverished region.

Abu Mohamed 45, another tunnel owner said: ‘Since the fall of Morsi, the tunnels completely stopped working.

‘I'm here with my workers to try to expand, clean up and fix the tunnels and then dig another entrance in Egypt after the original entrance was destroyed by the Egyptian army.’

However, authorities in Egypt are concerned weapons are being smuggled out of the Strip and used by Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula.

Counter work: Palestinian tunnel workers watch the Egyptian army soldiers destroy their hard work on the other side of the high concrete fences

Cries for help: Palestinian boys hold candles during a vigil against the ongoing blockade and constant power cuts in Gaza on Wednesday

Fuel shortage: A Palestinian boy waits to fill a container for power generator with fuel from a petrol station in Gaza city after thousands of people on both sides have been left stranded following the political turmoil in neighboring Egypt