Gaza – Knee-deep in craters carved out by Israeli air strikes, Palestinians wielded shovels and planks on Monday to reopen tunnels used to smuggle in goods from Egypt to Gaza, as international aid agencies raced to replenish Gaza’s supplies.
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Israel promised to ease its blockade on Gaza as part of a cease-fire last week that ended eight days of intense fighting. But difficult negotiations lie ahead, and there is no firm timeline for lifting the restrictions.
Israel’s military said it had accomplished its objectives while Hamas claimed victory after the two sides exchanged deadly airstrikes and rocket attacks for over a week.
During the recent offensive, Israel heavily targeted the tunnels, which are also used to bring weapons into Gaza.
An Egyptian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, estimated that half the tunnels are not functioning.
These tunnels have to be permanently closed.
How’s about we hiring all these tunnel builders and bring them to the NY area to do something useful, like a set of new North River (Hudson River) rail and vehicle tunnels? They’ll make more money here, the Gaza smugglers will be out of luck, and we’ll get some very productive and expert construction folk on our side..
Sounds like abandoning the Philadelphi corridor wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Better idea. Let’s take all the “humanitarian aid” that is being shipped to Gaza and place it inside the openings of the tunnels, either on Egypt side or Israel side. When they get to the end, they will discover the material, and will be unable to anything but to shlep it all back. Assuming we need to provide them with this stuff, let them work harder and shvitz. No more trucks crossing into Gaza.