page_title: Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Entry of a smuggling tunnel Deutsch: Eingang eines Schuggeltunnels
context_page_description: The Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels are passages that have been dug under the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land, 14 km in length, situated along the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt. After the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty of 1979, the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, was split by this Corridor. One part is located in the southern part of Gaza, and
  the smaller part of the town is in Egypt. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Philadelphi Corridor was placed under the control of the Palestine Authority until 2007. When Hamas seized power in 2007, Egypt and Israel closed borders with Gaza.
  In 2009, Egypt began the construction of an underground barrier to block existing tunnels and make new ones harder to dig. In 2011, Egypt relaxed restrictions at its border with the Gaza Strip, allowing Palestinians to cross freely.
  In 2013–2014, Egypt's military has destroyed most of the 1,200 smuggling tunnels which were used to smuggle food, weapons and other goods into Gaza.
context_section_description: The tunnels are normally dug by individual contractors from basements of houses or an olive grove under the border at depths of up to 30 meters (100 feet), and reaching up to 800 meters (2640 feet) in length. In many cases, the owners of the houses enter into a business arrangement with the tunnel builders. They may receive a portion of the profits from the smuggling or some other sort of financial compensation from those who contract the tunnel construction. While many tunnels are of a generally high quality of engineering and construction – with some including electricity, ventilation, intercoms, and a rail system – they are still very dangerous and are prone to cave-ins. The openings to many tunnels are found within buildings in or around Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah.
caption: Entry of a Gaza smuggling tunnel.
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