Gaza's labyrinth lifeline

Palestinians stand over the hole of a collapsed tunnel, damaged during Israel’s three-week war in Gaza Photograph: Abid Katib/Getty

Located in the Rafah area of Gaza, the tunnels connect with Egypt under the border. Here several Palestinian men carry out rebuilding work Photograph: AFP / Getty/AFP

The tunnels are used to transport essentials such as food, clothing and machinery, along with weapons and ammunition, through to Gaza Photograph: Abid Katib/Getty Images

A tunnel digger, wearing a mask to conceal his identity, removes sand in a bucket Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

Israel claimed it had struck 100 tunnels on the final day of the conflict alone, but this seems unlikely as the damage has taken a matter of days to repair Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

Smoke and fire fills the sky as Rafah comes under attack following Israeli warnings for residents to leave the area. Whereas civilians were injured and buildings destroyed, only the tunnel entrances were damaged Photograph: Abed Rahim Khatib/EPA

Homes riddled with bullets from Israeli Defence Forces above ground level Photograph: Zoriah Miller/Rapport

It is thought that the passages, which are about 15 metres underground, were too deep to be badly damaged by the 500-pound or one-tonne bombs dropped by Israeli F-16s Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters/Reuters

In one smuggling session the following goods were passed through: dry, yellow chicken feed; spare parts for cars; a box of Chinese-made, brass-coloured coat hooks; microwaves; kerosene cookers; packets of women’s underwear; and several large, 5.5-kilowatt generators Photograph: Abid Katib/Getty Images

Animals are also transported this way, including goats and even cattle Photograph: Khalil Hamra /AP

A boy looks out from an opening. As one worker puts it, 'there's nothing for us except the tunnels' Photograph: Eyad Baba/AP