During Operation Cast Lead, Israel's recent offensive against Hamas, Israeli aircraft pounded away at Gaza's tunnel complex. The tunnels, which link the southern tip of Gaza with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, are a conduit for weapons and drugs -- but they are also Gaza's economic lifeline.
Danger Room's Sharon Weinberger (disclaimer: my better half) recently paid a visit to Gaza, and she found a twilight zone where the tunnels still sustain the economy, Hamas sells its own version of Counter-Strike, and local movie producers are planning a mini-series based on the life of Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Israel in 2004.
Over at Slate, she pays a visit to Gaza's decrepit zoos, twilight economy, where even the animals are smuggled in through the tunnels. And at Foreign Policy, she describes a trip to the Asdaa Land for Artistical and Media Production -- a.k.a. Hamaswood -- a small studio city built by Hamas near the Gaza town of Khan Yunis.
Go read both articles, now.
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