The land down under: Except for basic humanitarian supplies, Israel has blockaded the flow of goods into Gaza since June 2007, when Hamas, a militant Islamist group committed to Israels destruction, ousted its more secular rival, Fatah. The blockade has led to a new economic structure -- a literal underground economy in which everything from food to gasoline to underwear is illicitly imported from Egypt via underground tunnels into Rafah, which sits on Egypts border at the Sinai Peninsula. Above, Palestinian men pull a bag of smuggled food, milk, and other supplies from an underground tunnel linking Rafah, in southern Gaza, to Egypt, on June 27.
Masked Palestinian men lower a cow into an underground chamber, part of the tunnel network connecting the Gaza Strip and Egypt, on Nov. 15, 2008, near the celebration of Eid al-Adha, where cattle are purchased for a slaughter commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God.
A Palestinian shows a sack containing smuggled tea pulled from a tunnel that runs under Gaza's border with Egypt in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 3, 2008.
A masked Palestinian man prepares to transport fuel underground through a tunnel connecting Rafah to Egypt on Nov. 16, 2008.
A Palestinian security officer carries confiscated AK47 rifles on Dec. 7, 2005 in Rafah. Palestinian security forces closed two tunnels that had been used to smuggle arms, drugs and illegal goods from neighboring Egypt.
An Israeli army officer inspects a tunnel allegedly used for smuggling weapons on Oct. 18, 2006 in the Philadelphi Corridor, Gaza. Israeli forces entered southern Gaza in an operation to find tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza, uncovering five tunnels in a single day.
Palestinian policemen close a tunnel in the Rafah refugee camp on Aug. 23, 2003.
On Nov. 1, 2007, an Israeli soldier stands at the demolished entrance to one of seven tunnels discovered by IDF troops. The tunnels were blown up by IDF combat engineers to ensure they wouldn't be used for trafficking illegal goods.
The 10-meter vertical shaft of an alleged Palestinian weapons smuggling tunnel is seen after it was discovered by Israeli soldiers in a Rafah home on Aug. 4, 2004 Troops found a ladder, flashlights, and communication equipment in the tunnel.
