RAFAH (Gaza Strip): When the calves were hauled out of the tunnel from Egypt on Tuesday, they could hardly stand up.

After a terrifying, 1000-metre underground trip into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, what the young cattle wanted most was a long drink of cool water.

Underground livestock smuggling has increased dramatically ahead of Eid ul-Azha.

“Even if we brought in animals every day we would not meet the demand for Eid,” said a tunnel operator who identified himself as Abu Luqaib. Hundreds of Gaza merchants throng around the border area of Rafah every day to pick up merchandise coming to Gaza from Egypt via subterranean passages that have created a flourishing trade zone.

“It’s an industrial zone here,” said the 23-year-old tunnel operator as his crew pulled a bawling calf up the deep shaft by a simple rope around its middle. No livestock harness was used.

Gaza has suffered galloping unemployment since Israel tightened its blockade on the territory in 2007 to try to weaken its Palestinian rulers, Hamas, an Islamist group sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state.

Goods are scarce in Gaza markets because of Israeli restrictions on what Gaza may and may not import. The tunnel network handles all sorts of readily portable merchandise including fuel, automobile parts, computers and clothes.

The number of tunnels has mushroomed in the past year to around 800, according to Abu Luqaib. They employ between 20,000 to 25,000 workers in a gray economy struggling for survival.

A standard 500-metre tunnel costs $60,000 to $90,000 to build, he says. A 1,000-metre tunnel built with extra safety features can cost up to $150,000.

The tunnels can be dangerous. Palestinian officials say at least 45 Gazans have died in cave-ins this year, some of which were blamed by Hamas on the security forces in Egypt, who are under pressure from Israel and the United States to clamp down.

But such risks are clearly outweighed by potential profits.

The calves that came through on Tuesday cost $350 each plus $250 for the transport, a total of $600 per head.

The tunnels also ferry people who cannot otherwise leave or enter Gaza unless they have Israeli or Egyptian permission.—Reuters