

A Palestinian man works at one of the tunnels linking the southern Gaza town of Rafah with Egypt, on Aug. 10. The border between Gaza and Egypt is connected by many underground tunnels used by smugglers to move commercial goods, livestock, food, and more into Gaza. Palestinians use a network of tunnels linking Egypt with the Islamist Hamas-ruled strip to evade the blockade imposed by Israel after Hamas took over the territory in June 2007. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Newscom
A Palestinian boy inspects a tunnel that runs under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt after Israeli air strikes on Jan. 28 in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza. New US peace envoy George Mitchell said it was critically important to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire, as Israel warned it would defend itself after a soldier was killed by Palestinian militants. Ahmad Khateib/Newscom/File
A masked Palestinian man inspects a tunnel that runs under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt after Israeli air strikes on Jan. 28 in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza. Ahmad Khateib/Newscom
A Palestinian man carries sheep smuggled into the Gaza Strip through a tunnel on Nov. 15. Residents of the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip fear a shortage of sacrificial cattle ahead of a major Muslim holiday due to Israel's blockade. Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and is celebrated in remembrance of Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to God. Said Khatib/AFP/Newscom
Palestinian children check the damage on a smuggling tunnel following an Israeli airstrike on the border between Egypt and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 24. Three Palestinians were wounded early on November 24 as Israel carried out three air strikes on Hamas-run Gaza in response to rocket fire from the enclave, witnesses, medics and the army said. Said Khatib/AFP/Newscom
Palestinian men who work inside smuggling tunnels tame a horse in Rafah, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 27. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Newscom
A Palestinian man inspects the entrance to a smuggling tunnel after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah near the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 30. At least two Palestinians were killed and five others remained missing after an overnight Israeli raid on smuggling tunnels in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, medics said. Said Khatib/AFP/Newscom
A Palestinian man smuggles sheep through a tunnel between Egypt and the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 7. Said Khatib/AFP/Newscom
Israeli Air Force planes attacked some sixty targets in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 3, included 30 smuggling tunnels, weapons storage facilities and rocket launch squads. Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/Newscom/File
A Palestinian smuggler inspects a tunnel that runs under the border between southern Gaza and Egypt, in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on April 22. Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Newscom