GAZA STRIP - Smuggling tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai to the Gaza Strip continue to flourish, according to Palestinian sources.

While weaponry and explosives have flowed into Gaza in greater quantities since Hamas wrested control from Fatah in a bloody military coup in June 2007, the tunnels are also being used to smuggle other goods into the Strip, as has been reported by CBN News.

As part of its propaganda campaign against Israel, Hamas has marketed the underground passages as "Tunnels of Life," preventing Gazans from "starvation" that would result from Israel's economic blockade.

"Today people want to eat and buy cheap goods from Egypt," an Arab journalist told Jerusalem Post Palestinian Affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh.

"That's why they are smuggling everything, including sheep, calves, lions, cigarettes, perfume, electrical appliances, food and even tens of thousands of Viagra pills," he said.

The tunnels have become a respected industry in the Strip, providing well-paying jobs for laborers and profits for owners.

Source: The Jerusalem Post