Gaza’s Underground Economy

For­eign Pol­icy has a fas­ci­nat­ing photo essay on Gaza’s (lit­eral) under­ground econ­omy.

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 Israel’s 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 Egypt’s bor­der at the Sinai Peninsula.