Egyptian authorities have started tightening security around tunnels that link the Egyptian city of Rafah and the Gaza Strip and while doing so, several secrets about that underworld were revealed. Based on investigations conducted by Egyptian security forces, there are fixed prices for transferring people from Rafah to Gaza or vice versa which are estimated according to the tunnel used and the distance crossed, said an inside source. The source explained that the prices generally start from $100 and could amount to $250 per person. “Many of the people who handle those underground trips wait on the Gaza side for Palestinians going back after being banned from entering Egypt for security reasons," the source said. “They then offer them entrance through the tunnels instead of checkpoints and give them the price list." Each of those tunnels, the source added, starts from inside a house in the Gaza Strip. According to the source, the number of tunnels that have so far been destroyed by Egyptian security amounts to 196. “They have been destroyed with advanced equipment that did not in any way affect the residents of the Egyptian city of Rafah." The source pointed out that the length of one tunnel on the Egyptian side ranges between seven and 15 meters for the secondary tunnels and around 60 meters for the main one. “The type of smuggled goods depends on the size of the tunnel. In small ones fuel and construction materials are smuggled while in others people and cars are smuggled." Source alarabiya.
