Tunnels, The lifeline for the Palestinians in Gaza. How else can you get basic human necessities like cigarettes, perfumes, fugitives snakes, lions, Kalashnikovs, rockets, explosives, fighters and funds into Gaza under the watchful eye of the evil Israelis?


"Do you have your passport?" one of the smugglers asked. Climbing out of the hole and emerging in an Egyptian border town in the dead of night was out of the question. Jail was the least I could expect if caught.

Canvas bags thumped down into the tunnel and Abu Mutassem and friends hauled them back under the heavily patrolled border into Gaza.

Only after he had climbed back up the rope and emerged from the "eye" did Abu Mutassem check his cargo: 70 short-barrelled Kalashnikov semi-automatic rifles, individually wrapped in plastic to keep out the dirt.

Each weapon would fetch $1,200 (£600) in Gaza. They had cost less than $200 from the desert Beduin community. Abu Mutassem and his men would share about $250 dollars for each gun. The profit margin on bullets was even higher. The big winner from their enterprise would be the tunnel owner or "snake head" who had put up about $50,000 to buy the house on the border.

This week Hamas closed down 35 of these tunnels. It was unclear whether this was because of a dispute with the "snake heads" or as part of the Islamic movement's commitments with Israel under a six-month ceasefire deal. Most, though, remain intact and the "military tunnels", used to bring rockets, explosives, fighters and funds into Gaza, will not be demolished.

The operators of the "commercial tunnels" plied by Abu Mutassem and his colleagues say that the market for small arms is drying up after a glut of weapons. Like any travelling salesmen, the smugglers vary their cargo to meet demand: sometimes drugs, often cigarettes, perfumes, fugitives (going rate $2,000 a trip) and, very occasionally, even African snakes or wild animals to stock a zoo.

The "snake head" typically needs only one successful crossing to turn his initial investment into profit. He is usually quick to snap up the four-wheel-drive vehicles, the phalanx of gun-toting bodyguards, the new villa and other trappings of the successful entrepreneur.

Those left underground are less fortunate. "It's the worst job in the world," said Abu Mutassem.

Three tunnellers have died in the past two weeks. In one case a tunnel collapsed after the Egyptians pumped in water. The digger was dragged out by his feet 24 hours later by a member of one of the extended tribal families that dominate the tunnel business. The tunnelling culture is so well established in Rafah that the high street barber - the Shaheeds' (Martyrs') Salon - has pictures of dead tunnellers on its walls and mirrors, alongside their shovels and other memorabilia.