While Israel maintains its blockade around the Gaza Strip, tunnels used for smuggling goods continue to provide a lifeline for the beseiged people living there.

According to World Bank officials, 80 per cent of Gaza’s imports currently come through the tunnels, which has only increased the worth of Gaza's tunnel smuggling economy from $30 million in 2006 to $650 million in 2007.

However, rampant smuggling makes the price of basic goods almost unbearable for the average Gazan.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad reports.