"Life cannot go on in Gaza if the tunnels are destroyed -- they're our only opening to the outside world," he said, speaking inside the Palestinian enclave that has been blockaded by the Jewish state for more than two years.

Hundreds of tunnels have been carved out beneath the Gaza-Egypt frontier, providing a vital conduit to bring basic needs into the territory which has suffered an increasing stranglehold in the past 18 months.

Foodstuffs, building materials, medicines and electric equipment are all brought from Egypt through the passages -- as well as weapons, notably rockets, and ammunition.

Such contraband provides smugglers with a profitable business. It is also a source of income for Hamas, the Islamist movement which has been the sole ruler in the Gaza Strip since June 2007.

The movement levies taxes on the smugglers' income from the tunnels which are linked to the territory's electricity grid with the blessing of Hamas.

Conscious that the goods, particularly weapons, flowing under the border are vital to Hamas in its conflict, Israel has bombed dozens of tunnels since Israel began its offensive on the Gaza Strip on December 27.

Abu Ali vows that he will fix the bomb-damaged tunnel that he shares with four partners, including a chief of Hamas's military wing. But for the moment, he dare not approach the area because "Israeli planes are attacking anyone approaching the frontiers."

Since the attacks on the smugglers' network began, the Hamas sympathiser, his wife and their daughter no longer sleep in the family home in Rafah for fear that he may also have been singled out for elimination by Israeli forces.

Another contraband operator, Ayman, operates two tunnels -- one for goods and the second for fuel.

"We don't know if our tunnels have been hit or not by the Israeli bombs because no one can go down there to see. After all, our life is more important than money or work," he said of the family-run business.

"We've had to pay to have a batch of tins of jam brought in through another tunnel which remains operational. That's going to increase their price in the marketplace," added the 21-year-old.

As far as Ayman is concerned, his smuggling activities are not motivated by profit but are necessary because of the Israeli blockade. He said dozens of Palestinians have died in recent months when tunnels collapsed.

Another smuggler, Iskandar, believes that Egypt will close its eyes to those tunnels which survive the Israeli attacks.

"Egypt does not want the people of Gaza to die of starvation, not forgetting that the tunnels bring Egyptian traders on the other side up to 45 million dollars a month," he said, pointing out that Cairo is being constantly pressed by Israel to deal ruthlessly with the underground corridors on its side.

The destruction of many tunnels in the Israeli offensive over the past week has already meant shortages of some products in Gaza's shops.

Abdel Wahab, who runs a pharmacy, has smugglers bring in medicines worth 6,000 dollars a month from Egypt for resale in Gaza.

"Our losses are huge because of the destruction of the tunnels, and no-one is going to compensate us," he said. "In other countries, tunnels are generally used for drug trafficking, but in Gaza they enable us to continue to live."

Hamas police keep a close eye on the activities of those operating the tunnels to prevent the entry of drugs or arms, the latter being brought in through special underground routes managed by armed Palestinian groups.

Besides the tunnels, the Jewish state's warplanes have damaged the Al-Nijmeh market in Rafah where wholesalers used to buy many products from Egypt.

Before the offensive, the market swarmed with customers. Today, only a handful venture out in search of gas cylinders or diesel fuel.

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