Feature: Gaza tunnels back to operate after Israel's operation
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E-mail Xinhua, November 25, 2012
A group of poor workers were gently removing sands and rubble that filled the mouth of a smuggling tunnel under the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, as it was struck by Israeli war jets during the eight-day Israeli conflict with Gaza.
In the Israeli large-scale aerial "Operation Pillar of Defense" which ended last Wednesday after Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants led by Hamas movement, Israeli war jets targeted many houses and smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the tunnels had contributed in strengthening Hamas military power in the conflict, but were either completely or partially destroyed by the attacks.
Israel allegedly said the Palestinians used tunnels to smuggle weapons and rockets, mainly long-range Iranian-made rockets fired on Israeli cities during the conflict, and at the end of the attacks, the Israeli army said its war jets destroyed 140 tunnels on Gaza.
Ahmed Salah, who worked in a tunnel, said he could not find a tunnel in which he used to work, as it was completely destroyed by the last aerial attacks.
"The area of the border looks like it was hit by a powerful earthquake, because everything here, including most of the tunnels, were buried under the sands," said Salah, who was holding a poleax and wearing a medical muzzle. "I hope we can fix and operate this tunnel soon."
The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip used hundreds of underground tunnels to smuggle their basic needs such as food, products of fuels and medicine after Israel imposed a tightened blockade on the coastal enclave, said Subhi Abu Radwan, mayor of Rafah town.
Abu Radwan told Xinhua that the recent Israeli aerial attacks destroyed more than 80 percent of the smuggling tunnels, but declined to tell whether the tunnels were used for smuggling rockets and weapons to the Islamic movement and other militants.
According to local estimations in Rafah, there are 1,200 tunnels on the 13 km long borderline between the Gaza Strip and Egypt before the frequent destruction, however, Hamas officials estimated that the number of tunnels which are operating now is 400.
On Friday, a Palestinian was killed and three others wounded when a group of workers were working in a tunnel to pull out an unexploded Israeli missile. Dozens of workers were killed over the past five years, either in tunnels or caves.
While Israeli airstrikes destroyed dozens of tunnels that were used for smuggling cements and other raw-materials, tunnel owners said they will repair the tunnels and operate them again.
Emad Hassan, an expert in digging tunnels, was working hard to reopen a tunnel. He said "the airstrikes destroyed part of this tunnel and I'm trying to fix it and make it working again."
Hamas encouraged the Palestinians, most of whom are the poor, to dig tunnels.
Mohamed Qeshta, a truck driver, drove his truck into a tunnel to take gravel used for constructions, saying that "some tunnels that we deal with are really dangerous and may collapse anytime."
The future of the smuggling tunnels is still vague although a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hamas and Israel.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, told reporters on Sunday that "it's hard to close down all tunnels before opening all the legal crossing points round the clock."
The Gaza Strip is in need of daily shipments of food, medicine and fuels after the conflict, and the Hamas rule announced on Sunday that it had plans to fix the damage and help people in the coastal enclave.
Mo'een Rajab, an economic professor at Gaza-based al-Azhar University, told Xinhua that he believes the tunnels will keep operating although Israel decided to ease the blockade and restrictions imposed on the movement of goods and people at the crossing points between Israel and Gaza.
"I believe that the situation is still unstable. Today the crossings might be opened and the blockade will be eased, but what will happen when there will be another war on Gaza, then there will be no alternatives if all tunnels are closed or destroyed," said Rajab. Endi
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