Hamas Minister: Gaza Tunnel Closure Costs $230 Million Monthly

Egypt’s shut-down of the Gaza Strip’s tunnel economy is costing its government at least $230 million per month according to a Hamas official. Hatem Oweida, the Hamas government’s deputy economy minister, said on Sunday that closing the tunnels that came into use as the means for smuggling a huge array of goods and people after Israel clamped a boycott on the Strip in 2007 is being felt in a number of economic sectors including industry, commerce, agriculture and construction. Although Gaza’s Hamas rulers were hopeful that the enclave would be open to Egypt when Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood won the election in 2010, the opposite has been true since the military ouster of Morsi and the Brotherhood. The Egyptians have closed the crossings and destroyed the tunnels. Estimates were that the hundreds of tunnels were responsible for at least 40 per cent of the overall economy of the Gaza Strip.